Robert Stanton (park director)

Robert G. Stanton
Robert G. Stanton
Born	(1940-09-22) September 22, 1940 Fort Worth, Texas
Occupation	Director of the National Park Service

Robert G. Stanton (born September 22, 1940) served for almost four decades as an employee of the United States National Park Service, and as its 15th Director from 1997-2001.

Stanton began his long National Park Service career as a seasonal ranger at Grand Teton National Park in 1962. and went on to serve the NPS as a ranger, superintendent, deputy regional director, assistant director, and regional director of the National Capital Region before his initial retirement in January 1997. Just seven months after retiring, however, Stanton was called upon to serve the NPS again, when he was appointed National Park Service Director by President Bill Clinton, becoming the first African American to serve in that post. He was also the first career NPS employee since Russell E. Dickenson to serve as Director.

As Director, in addition to his many other accomplishments, Mr. Stanton took a particular interest in, and made great strides forward for the Service in increasing the diversity of its staff, and in the agency's public programs to better serve minority populations.

Early Life & Education

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he grew-up in Mosier Valley, one of the oldest African American communities in Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963, from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, did graduate work at Boston University, and George Washington University, and has completed numerous programs in conservation, management, and executive leadership. Mr. Stanton is an executive professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Career

Title	From	TO
Superintendent, National Capital Parks-East	8/23/1970	8/22/1971
Superintendent, Virgin Islands National Park	8/22/1971	2/1/1974
Dept. Reg. Dir., Southeast Region	4/28/1974	3/27/1976
Asst Dir., Resource Mgnt	3/29/1976	5/15/1976
Asst Dir., Park Operations	5/28/1977	12/31/1978
Dep. Reg.Dir., National Capital Parks	5/28/1977	12/31/1978
Assoc Dir., Park Operations	6/21/1987	12/17/1988
Director	8/4/1997	1/2001

Mr. Stanton began his Federal career as a seasonal park ranger at Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, during the summers of 1962 and 1963. He took a full-time position with the National Park Service in 1966, as a personnel management and public information specialist in Washington, D.C. In 1969, he moved to National Capital Parks-Central, as a management assistant, and in 1970, became superintendent of National Capital Parks-East. A year later he was appointed superintendent of Virgin Islands National Park, St. Thomas, and in 1974, he became Deputy Regional Director of the Southeast Region in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1976, Mr. Stanton returned to Washington, D.C., as Assistant Director, Park Operations, and in 1978, went on to become Deputy Regional Director of the National Capital Region, a position he held for eight years. In 1987, he returned to headquarters as Associate Director for Operations, and in 1988 became Regional Director of the National Capital Region, where he served until his retirement from career service in 1997. Later that same year, he was called out of retirement back into public service again, when he was appointed National Park Service Director by President Clinton, serving in that position from August 1997 until January 2001.

See also

• National Park Service
• Roger G. Kennedy - 14th Director
• Fran P. Mainella - 16th Director

Government offices
Preceded by Roger G. Kennedy	Director of the National Park Service 1997 – 2001	Succeeded by Fran P. Mainella