Robert Stephen Silberman is an American businessman and former

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) from 1992 to 1993. He was previously assistant to the chief executive officer of International Paper from 1993 to 1995 and CEO of Strayer Education, Inc. from 2001 to 2013. Silberman was named executive chairman of the board of Strayer Education Inc. (now known as

Strategic Education, Inc. Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI), is an education services holding company and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit, online Capella University and Strayer University, as well as non-degree programs schools suc ...

) in 2013. He is the son of Judge

Laurence Silberman Laurence Hirsch Silberman (October 12, 1935 – October 2, 2022) was an American lawyer, diplomat, jurist, and government official who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia C ...

Biography

Robert S. Silberman was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on October 30, 1957.George H. W. Bush, "Nomination of Robert S. Silberman To Be an Assistant Secretary of the Army", June 15, 1992
/ref> He is a 1976 graduate of the

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

. Silberman was educated at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, receiving a B.A. in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in 1980. He received an M.A. in international economics from the

Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

in 1990. From 1980 to 1984, Silberman served as a United States Naval Officer aboard . From 1985 to 1988, he worked in energy finance at The Henley Group, and at Ogden Corporation (the predecessor to Covanta Holding Corporation.) In 1988 he entered Federal Government service as deputy administrator of the United States Maritime Administration in the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

. In 1990, he was appointed United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy. On June 15, 1992,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

nominated Silberman to be United States Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). After

Senate confirmation Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previo ...

, Silberman held this office from 1992 to 1993. Silberman left government service in 1993, becoming assistant to the chief executive officer of International Paper.''Forbes'' bio of Silberman
/ref> He left for CalEnergy Company in 1995, where he served in a number of senior management roles, including as president and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

. He left CalEnergy in 2000, and in March 2001 became chief executive officer of Strayer Education, Inc. Additionally, since 2003 he has served as

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Strayer, now known as Strategic Education, Inc. In 2007, during his tenure at Strayer Education, Silberman was awarded Morningstar's CEO of the Year award. Other recipients of the award include Warren Buffett,

Jamie Dimon James Dimon (; born March 13, 1956) is an American billionaire businessman and banker who has been the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase – the largest of the big four American banks – since 2005. Dimon was previously on ...

, Charles Schwab and Herb Kelleher. Silberman currently serves as a director of Strategic Education, Inc. and as the Chairman of the Board of Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. He also serves on the board of visitors of The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberman, Robert S. 1957 births Living people Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Dartmouth College alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Navy officers Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Businesspeople from Boston United States Department of Transportation officials United States Army civilians American chief operating officers American chief executives