About James Gantt

Dr. Gantt became the Director of the Center for telecommunications Systems Management (CTSM) in February, 2005. The CTSM is part of the Murray State University Program of Distinction in Telecommunications Systems Management, established in 1999. The Center focuses on outreach to students, industry, and government agencies.

Dr. Gantt was born in Murray, Kentucky. He attended Murray State University and received a Bachelor of Science with honors (Cum Laude) in 1971. In 1972, he received a Master of Science degree in Computer Science majoring in Operations Research from the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly UMR). After graduation, he entered the United States Army and served as an instructor at the Army Computer Science School at Fort Harrison, Indiana. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S Army Reserves.

In 1978, he received an Education Specialist degree in Management from Ball State University. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia and was employed as an Operations Research Analyst with the Army Institute for Research in Management Information, Communications, and Computer Sciences (AIRMICS). He was selected to spend the 1981-1982 school year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Fellow in the Center for Advanced Engineering Studies. From 1983 to 1992, he served as the Chief of the Management Information Systems Division at AIRMICS. He completed his Ph.D in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1989. In 1998, Dr. Gantt was honored with Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) from Bowie State University. In 2003 he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Murray State University.

When the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) was formed in 1992, he became the Chief of the Software Technology Branch and then the Chief of the Software and Intelligent Systems Division. In September, 1996, he became the acting Director of the Information Science and Technology (IS&T) Directorate. He was selected to become a member of the Senior Executive Service and Director of IS&T in June, 1998. Between May, 2000 and December, 2004 Dr. Gantt served as the Deputy Director and then Director of ARL’s Computational and Information Sciences Directorate. As Director he was responsible for conducting research for the Army in Computational, Computer, Communications, and Atmospheric Sciences research. He directed a yearly budget of approximately $175M and managed 350 government employees and 450 on-site contractors. From July, 2003 to December, 2004 Dr. Gantt also served as the Chief Information Officer of ARL.