<< Back to Faculty Alexander Bick Associate Professor of Practice in Public Policy Education & Training PhD, History, Princeton MSc, Economic History, LSE BA, Political Science, University of Chicago jbx6kp@virginia.edu Garrett Hall L015 Curriculum Vitae (190.6 KB) Courses taught The War in Ukraine Research interests National Security International and Global Affairs History and Policy Alexander Bick is associate professor of practice in public policy in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He brings more than twenty years of experience in national security policy and research, including senior roles in the U.S. government, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Bick served as director for strategic planning at the National Security Council during the first year of the Biden administration. In that role, he led the “Tiger Team” charged with planning the U.S. response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and helped to craft the 2022 National Security Strategy, the overarching strategic framework for U.S. national security and foreign policy. Later, he served as a senior advisor and member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning staff at the U.S. Department of State. There he earned a Superior Honor Award for his work conceiving and co-directing an initiative to improve the Department’s ability to anticipate and plan for major global crises. Earlier in his career, Bick served at the State Department and the White House in the Obama administration, where he focused on the Middle East and North Africa and played a key role developing the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Before entering government, he worked for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on elections and peace initiatives in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Venezuela, and Libya, and as a researcher on development policy in the UK Parliament. A historian by training, Bick previously taught at Barnard College and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he helped to establish the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs. He has held research fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the University of Leiden, where he was a Fulbright Fellow. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Minutes of Empire, which explores the relationship between conquest, company, and state in the Dutch Republic on the eve of the Treaty of Westphalia. Bick graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago with a BA in political science. He received a diploma in economics and an MSc in economic history from the London School of Economics and a PhD in history from Princeton. Related Content History as a Leadership Hack News The lessons of history have been ever-present throughout Alex Bick's 20-year career in international affairs and national security, including roles at The Carter Center and in the Obama and Biden administrations. He joined the Batten faculty this semester as associate professor of practice in public policy. Two years into the Ukraine War Event February 6, 2024, 3:30-6:15 pm The Miller Center commemorates the 2nd anniversary of the Russian war in Ukraine in a special two-panel program with UVA experts in foreign policy, defense, and diplomacy. Two years into the Ukraine War: Where are we headed and what have we learned? Session One: Global Inflection Point? Experts reflect on how the war has changed international politics. What was foreseen, and what was not? What might the future hold? Session Two: Leadership Matters The leadership of three presidents—Joe Biden in the United States, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine—has defined the trajectory of the war. What conclusions can we draw about presidential leadership and decision-making in the 21st century? How might a change of leadership in any of the three countries change the trajectory once again? View All
History as a Leadership Hack News The lessons of history have been ever-present throughout Alex Bick's 20-year career in international affairs and national security, including roles at The Carter Center and in the Obama and Biden administrations. He joined the Batten faculty this semester as associate professor of practice in public policy.
Two years into the Ukraine War Event February 6, 2024, 3:30-6:15 pm The Miller Center commemorates the 2nd anniversary of the Russian war in Ukraine in a special two-panel program with UVA experts in foreign policy, defense, and diplomacy. Two years into the Ukraine War: Where are we headed and what have we learned? Session One: Global Inflection Point? Experts reflect on how the war has changed international politics. What was foreseen, and what was not? What might the future hold? Session Two: Leadership Matters The leadership of three presidents—Joe Biden in the United States, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine—has defined the trajectory of the war. What conclusions can we draw about presidential leadership and decision-making in the 21st century? How might a change of leadership in any of the three countries change the trajectory once again?