Chris Gibson (New York politician)

Chris Gibson
President of Siena College
In office July 1, 2020 – May 31, 2023
Preceded by	Ed Coughlin[1]
Succeeded by	Charles Seifert
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Scott Murphy
Succeeded by	John Faso
Constituency	20th district (2011–2013) 19th district (2013–2017)
Personal details
Born	Christopher Patrick Gibson (1964-05-13) May 13, 1964 (age 60) Rockville Centre, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Mary Jo Gibson
Education	Siena College (BA) Cornell University (MPA, MA, PhD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1986–2010
Rank	Colonel
Commands	2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	Persian Gulf War Kosovo Force Operation Iraqi Freedom
Awards	Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star (4) Purple Heart Joint Service Commendation Medal Combat Infantryman Badge with star Master Parachutist Badge Ranger tab

Christopher Patrick Gibson (born May 13, 1964) is an American politician, author, professor, college administrator, and former officer in the United States Army. A Republican, Gibson served as the U.S. representative for New York's 20th congressional district from 2011 to 2013 and for New York's 19th congressional district from 2013 to 2017.

A lifelong resident of Kinderhook, New York, Gibson joined the United States Army in 1986 after graduating from Siena College.^[2] He served tours in the First Gulf War, Kosovo, and Iraq, rising to the rank of colonel. He later taught American politics at West Point and was a national security affairs fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.^[3] He has received four Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart, among other awards while in the military.^[4] He also holds a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University. In 2008, he published his first book, Securing the State, which offered his overview on national security decision-making.

He retired from the United States Army in 2010 to run for Congress, defeating Democratic incumbent Scott Murphy with 55% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2014. In January 2015, Gibson, a supporter of term limits, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2016. Originally seen as a possible candidate for governor in 2018, Gibson announced he would not run. He served as the Stanley Kaplan Distinguished Visiting Professor of American Foreign Policy at Williams College from February 2017 until 2020.^[5][6][7]

In February 2020, Siena College, Gibson’s alma mater, announced he would be the school’s 12th president becoming the first lay person to lead the Franciscan institution. He immediately went to work as President-Elect and led the college’s COVID Working Group. During his three-year tenure as President, he helped lead the college to record enrollments, balanced budgets, the successful launching of a new strategic plan, new and improved facilities, while earning various national recognitions, including being named among the “top 20” best Catholic Colleges in the U.S. (#9 for 2023) according to the source, College Consensus and listed among Conde Nast’s “50 most beautiful campuses.” He retired from that position on May 31, 2023.^[8][9][10]