Charles T . McDowell Charles Taylor McDowell ( November 23 , 1921 - July 8 , 2007 ) was professor emeritus and former director of the Center for Post - Soviet and Eastern European Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington , and a member of the Military Science Hall of Honor . Prior to founding and becoming director of the Center for Post Soviet and Eastern European Studies , McDowell served as Assistant to the President and Dean of Student Life at the University during the late 1960s , which saw the Rebel Theme Controversy and attempts by the Students for a Democratic Society to establish a chapter on campus . He was the first chair of the UT Arlington Faculty Senate , a position to which he was re - elected six times . At UT Arlington , McDowell has been regularly cited as one of the most popular professors among students and has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards . Military career . Prior to his academic career , McDowell led a long and distinguished career with the United States Army and various government agencies . After graduating from Texas A & M University ( then known as the Agricultural and Mechanical college of Texas ) and the Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning , Georgia , he was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the U . S . Army . After commissioning , McDowell was assigned to teach in the Army Specialized Training Program ( ASTP ) at Fort Benning . He then attended the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning , and , after completion , was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and the 11th Airborne Division . He also served with the 97th Infantry Division in Europe . His early assignments included command positions from Platoon Leader to Battalion Commander . As part of the 82nd Airborne Division , McDowell participated in Operation Market Garden , jumping behind enemy lines and engaging objectives in Nijmegen and Arnhem . During later assignments McDowell was a professor at Tokyo Army College ( 1946 – 1948 ) and was commandant and director of the College ( 1947 – 1948 ) . While serving as Director of the Tokyo Army College , McDowell was sent by General Douglas MacArthur to recruit Japanese - French woodblock print artist Paul Jacoulet – who had been in seclusion in Karuizawa – to the college . General MacArthur and Commandant McDowell became avid collectors of Jacoulet woodblock prints . From 1947 to 1949 , he was Information and Education Officer for the Eighth U . S . Army and later the 82nd Airborne Division . From 1955 to 1958 he was a Professor of Russian language , history , economics , geography , and political science in a classified joint military / civilian intelligence agency and Chief of the research division from 1956 to 1958 . In 1959 , McDowell was an Instructor for the Command and General Staff College in Taiwan , Japan , Korea , and Hawaii , where he taught U . S . military forces about nuclear weapons . McDowell is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute , the Foreign Area Specialist Program , the Defense Intelligence Course , the Armed Forces Staff College , the Command and General Staff College , and a two year Soviet - East Europe Advanced Foreign Area Studies Program at the doctoral level as one of a small number of State Department , military , and intelligence agency personnel selected to participate in the program known as Detachment R . He received a BS degree from Texas A & M University , an MA from Columbia University in 1953 and in 1956 a PhD from Texas A & M University . McDowell retired as a Colonel . At UT Arlington . McDowell joined the University of Texas at Arlington ( then Arlington State College ) in 1959 as Assistant Professor of Military Science and Tactics . After being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel , he left the University to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff , where he was Intelligence Officer of the Airborne Command Post , a job that often involved flying with the President of the United States and his senior staff to evaluate foreign military threats and provide mobile control of U . S . nuclear forces . In this role , McDowell was the custodian of the Nuclear Football , which is used by the President of the United States to authorize the use of nuclear weapons while away from fixed command centers . McDowell is a Master Combat Parachutist and has been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge . Other decorations include the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster , the American Defense Service Medal , American Campaign Medal , European Campaign Medal , Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal , World War II Victory Medal , Army of Occupation Medal , Korean Service Medal , and the United Nations Medal . McDowell has served as a Diplomatic courier and USSR Specialist , as well as a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department in the former Soviet Union , Europe , Asia , and North Africa . He was Senior Area Administrator for Lyndon Johnson ' s Job Corps program , which entailed supervision of all centers in the United States between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains . At the request of President Jack Woolf of UT Arlington , McDowell returned to the University in 1966 to serve as Assistant to the President and , from 1967 to 1969 , as Dean of Student Life . He later became the director of the Center for Post - Soviet and Eastern European Studies and the Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics . McDowell was the first chairman of the Faculty Senate at the University of Texas at Arlington and was re - elected to that position on four subsequent occasions . He served as faculty sponsor of Alpha Phi Omega , Alpha Chi Honor Society , the Soviet and East European Club , and the Student Congress . He was honored for his teaching , advising , and mentoring of students with multiple awards , including the AMOCO Award as Outstanding Teacher ( now Chancellor ' s Council Award ) , Best Academic Advisor , Best Advisor of Student Organizations , and four nominations as UT Arlington ' s candidate for the Piper Award for Outstanding Teaching . Back in Texas . After returning to Texas , Charles and Mary Frances McDowell built a home on a tract of land in Arlington , Texas , where they hosted some of the first delegations from behind the Iron Curtain to the United States during the Cold War era . The McDowells had two children , Charles Patrick McDowell , a Vice President at Goodrich Corporation , and Kathy McDowell Stewart ( deceased ) , an attorney who worked in various positions with the U . S . State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency ' s Directorate of Operations and Office of General Counsel . Stewart is the namesake of the CIA ' s Kathy Stewart Award , the highest honor that can be awarded to a staff member in the CIA ' s Office of General Counsel . During the past quarter century , McDowell has made numerous contributions to print and televised media concerning the Soviet Union , People ' s Republic of China , and subjects related to Eastern Europe . Dr . McDowell is an author and co - author of many articles , documents , and books , including classified government documents concerning the Soviet Union . He is also author of numerous book reviews published by the Dallas Morning News . He has served as either chief translator or as editor on projects conducting non - classified technical , industrial , scientific and literary translations both from English to Russian and from Russian to English . Posthumous honors . On May 17 , 2009 , the San Saba Historical Museum in San Saba County , Texas unveiled a permanent exhibit on Dr . McDowell ' s life . During the ceremony , San Saba Mayor Ken Jordan presented a proclamation of the City Council designating May 17 " Charles Taylor McDowell day . " The University of Texas at Arlington has begun work to develop the Charles T . McDowell Center for Critical Languages and Area Studies , which will build on the Center for Post Soviet and Eastern European Studies to include other regions of strategic importance to the United States .