PC Degrees: Bachelor of Arts/Political Science

PC Activities: Fall River Alumni Club, various political/international affairs clubs

Career Path: After earning his bachelor’s degree in political science from Providence College, Richard H. Giza earned his master’s degree in Russian studies from Fordham University. He is also a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and completed the Executive Program in National and International Security at Harvard University.

Giza began his career in federal government in 1966 as an analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency. During his 40 years of service as an intelligence officer with several federal departments, he gained much senior level experience in Intelligence Community management, policy, and organization, as well as in resource allocation and intelligence program assessment. He served on a White House Commission that studied intelligence and in the legislative branch for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). He retired as chief of staff in the Office of Legislative Affairs for the Director of National Intelligence.

Giza has authored and contributed to numerous Congressional reports and has published articles in Military Review and in the Consortium for the Study of Intelligence. Studies and investigations that he led and contributed to, in some cases over 25 years ago, still provide a rich public record on matters that are extremely relevant today, such as Iran and counterterrorism.

After retiring in January 2006, Giza was decorated with the highest honor awarded by this country’s Intelligence Community—the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal. The medal was presented by Larry C. Kindsvater, former deputy director of central intelligence for community management, in a ceremony at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va.

Staying Involved: In the early 1970s, Giza served as president of the Providence College Alumni Club of Washington, D.C.

Memorable Quote: “I think much of the impetus for guiding me to public service was the strong foundation I received in PC’s political science department. Ziggy Friedemann’s [Dr. Zygmunt J. Friedemann, now professor emeritus of political science] ability to bring alive the world of international politics is what led me along the career path I eventually chose.”