Air Force, 1991
• 1989 Academic All-America® Second Team
• 1990 Academic All-America® First Team
Chris Howard was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 2003.
Chris Howard was the starting running back on the Academy football team that upset Ohio State University in the 1990 Liberty Bowl. He received numerous awards, including the Playboy magazine Anson Mount Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Draddy Trophy, commonly known as the ‘Academic’ Heisman.
Howard graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1991 with a B.S. in Political Science. At the Academy, Howard served as Class President for three years. After graduating, Howard attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. At Oxford, Howard wrote his doctoral dissertation on congressional behavior during instances when the US used military force from 1975-1991.
Howard graduated first in his class from Intelligence Officer School and served as a helicopter pilot, an advisor to Secretary of Defense William Cohen in Cape Town, and the Officer-in-Charge of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron during his active military duty. In 2001 he was named “Intelligence Officer of the Year” and now is a Major in the Air Force Reserve, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Howard moved to the corporate world and worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb, most notably managing a $100 million HIV/AIDS initiative in southern Africa, SecureThe Future. Returning to school, Howard earned his MB with distinction from Harvard Business School in 2003. He is also an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow, Full Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Remarque Institute Forum participant, a US-Japan Foundation Leadership Fellow, National Committee on US-China Relations Young Leaders Fellow, member of the America-Australia Leadership Dialogue, and a Duke University School of Public Policy-University of Cape Town School of Business Emerging Leaders Fellow. Howard joined the Board of Directors of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars in 2006 and has served on Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committees in Alabama, New York and Michigan.
Howard was among the youngest Executive Officers at the University of Oklahoma when he was named Vice President in 2006. Living in Oklahoma with wife Barbara, and sons Cohen and Joshua, Howard is active in the community, serving on the board of “100 Ideas for Oklahoma” and the Southwest Center for Human Relations in addition to serving as a member of the Jim Thorpe Association. Governor Brad Henry named Howard to the Commission on Community Service in December 2008 for a two-year term.