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J. Thomas Hennessey, Jr. Ph.D.
Chief of Staff
Office of the President,
George Mason University
Dr. Hennessey is a career professional with more than thirty years of progressively responsible leadership and management experience in public service, University administration, organizational research, and the classroom. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and History and his Masters of Public Administration from Eastern Kentucky University. He was one of the first doctoral graduates of the Institute of Public Policy, now the School of Public Policy, at George Mason University.
As the Chief of Staff, Dr. Hennessey is responsible for all administration in the Office of the President, serves as the University legislative liaison to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, University Liaison to the Board of Visitors, and chairs multiple University wide committees, including the Privacy and Security Compliance Team and Crisis Management Response Committee.
His research and teaching center on public service, management of change in public organizations, and organizational theory. He has written and taught extensively on the “Reinvention of Government. Since joining the faculty at George Mason he has been Grant Recipient, PriceWaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government, Principle Investigator to the Governor’s Task Force on Procurement Assessment, Principle Investigator, Department of General Services and Department of Juvenile Justice, Commonwealth of Virginia, Strategic Planning and Performance Measure Management. National Council Member, Region IV, American Society for Public Administration. 1998-2002. Chairman, American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Regions III/IV, Program Director, Cooperative Research on High Performing Organizations, Prince William County, Virginia. On behalf of the University he has served as Director, Excellence in Government Program, Acting Executive Director, The Northern Virginia Business Roundtable, Executive Director, Congressional Institute for the Future, and Program Director, Lead the Future. He currently serves as Chair-Elect of the Virginia Economic Bridge. At the University, Dr. Hennessey has been twice recognized, in 2001-2002 and 2003-2004, as the “Administrator of the Year” by Student Government.
Prior to joining George Mason University, Dr. Hennessey served with the United States Army for 28 years in successively responsible leadership positions and retired as a Colonel from the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command. His most recent assignments included Deputy Chief of Staff, US Army Intelligence and Security Command, Chief, European Division. Political-Military Affairs, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and US Military Attaché, American Embassy London, United Kingdom. His military assignments include combat command and staff positions from platoon through theater from Vietnam to the Middle East. His decorations and awards include the Silver Star, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, three Bronze Star awards, two Purple Hearts, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Joint Service Identification Badge, and the Parachutist badge.
