1

DR. ROBERT A. VITAS

ROBERT A. VITAS, Ph.D., CAE, CFRE

Chairman of the Board, Lithuanian Research and StudiesCenter

Executive Director, Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society

CURRICULUM VITAE

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., Political Science, Loyola University of Chicago, January 1989. Dissertation: "US Nonrecognition of the Soviet Occupation of Lithuania."
  • M.A., Political Science, LoyolaUniversity of Chicago, May 1986. Thesis: "Civil-Military Relations in Lithuania Under President Antanas Smetona 1926-1940."
  • B.A., Honors, Summa Cum Laude, Political Science, LoyolaUniversity of Chicago, May 1984. Graduated with collegiate and departmental honors.
  • Certified Association Executive (CAE), American Society of Association Executives, January 2009.
  • Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), CFRE International, March 2005.
  • Certificate in Manufacturing Management, American Management Association, May 2001.
  • Diploma, Lithuanian History, Lithuanian Institute of Education, Chicago, December 1981.

EMPLOYMENT

  • American Academy of Periodontology Foundation. Executive Director, February 2010-present.
  • Institute of Food Technologists Foundation, Vice President, October 2008-January 2010.
  • AmericanAcademy of Pediatric Dentistry Foundation. Director, May 2004-October 2008.
  • Qualex, Inc., a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak, Elgin, IL. Regional Training Manager, March 1999-July 2001, December 2002 – December 2003.
  • IPC, Northbrook, IL. Vice President, Professional Development, July 2001–August 2002.
  • The Great Books Foundation, Chicago. Training Administrator and Senior Instructor, April 1995 – February 1999; Training Instructor, July 1989 – March 1995.
  • LithuanianResearch & StudiesCenter, Chicago. Executive Director, July 1988-June 1989.
  • Kristanavicius Educational Foundation, Chicago. President, June 1986 – June 1988.
  • LoyolaUniversity, Dept. of Political Science. Research Assistant, August 1984-May 1986.

FACULTY / TEACHING APPOINTMENTS

  • Northwestern University, Visiting Scholar, 1995 - 2010.
  • Great Books Foundation, Chicago, Senior Instructor, 1995 - 1999; Instructor, 1989 - 1995.
  • Lithuanian Institute of Education, Chicago, Department of History, Lecturer, 1984 - 2004.
  • LoyolaUniversity of Chicago, Department of Political Science, Lecturer, 1986-1988.

BOOKS

Civil-Military Relations in Lithuania Under President Antanas Smetona 1926-1940. Chicago: Lithuanian Research and StudiesCenter, 2004.

U.S. National Security Policy and Strategy: Documents and Policy Proposals, Volume Two, 1986-1994.Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. Co-editor with John Allen Williams.

The United States and Lithuania: The Stimson Doctrine of Nonrecognition. New York: Praeger, 1990, 176 pp. Author.

U.S. National Security Policy and Strategy: Documents and Policy Proposals. Greenwood, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988, 441 pp. Co-editor with Sam C. Sarkesian.

Pedagoginis Lituanistikos Institutas 1958-1983 (Lithuanian Institute of Education 1958-1983). Chicago: Lithuanian Institute of Education, 1984, 152 pp. Editor.

Program publication of the Fourth International Lithuanian Symposium on Arts and Sciences. Chicago: Executive Committee, 1981, 456 pp. Member of the editorial board.

REPORTS

U.S. National Security Strategy: New Challenges and Opportunities. Preliminary Report to Chief of Staff, US Army, 1 November 1988, on the results of the Workshop sponsored by the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society and the United States Army, 30 September - 2 October 1988. Chicago: IUS, 1988, 66 pp. Vice Chairman and Rapporteur.

Lithuanian Immigration History. Final Report for National Endowment for the Humanities, "Lithuanian Immigration History Study Model." NEH Grant AZ-*1778 80. Chicago: Lithuanian Institute of Education, 1982, 110 pp. Assistant Project Director and Editor.

BOOK CHAPTERS

"Civil-Military Relations in Lithuania." Chapter in Civil-Military Relations in Soviet and Yugoslav Successor States, edited by Constantine P. Danopoulos and Daniel Zirker. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1996, pp. 73-91.

"Introduction." Included at the beginning of a seven-volume series entitled Lithuania During the Second World War As Reported in the New York Times 1938-1944. Chicago: Lithuanian Research and StudiesCenter, 1992.

ARTICLES

“Nonrecognition and Recognition: US-Lithuanian Relations 1940-1992.” Bridges (February 2017), pp. 13-16. Author.

“Civilian Graduate Education and the Professional Officer,” Military Review, 89, 3 (May-June 1999), pp. 47-58. Author. Later translated into Chinese by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense for use in officer education.

"The Recognition of Lithuania: The Completion of the Legal Circle." Journal of Baltic Studies, 24, 3 (Fall 1993), pp. 247-262. Author.

"Kariuomenes vaidmens teoretiniai aspektai prezidento Smetonos laikais" ("Theoretical Aspects of Military Affairs Under President Antanas Smetona"). Proceedings of the Institute of Lithuanian Studies, 1985, (1989), pp. 66-72. Abstract of paper.

"The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact." The Observer, 5, 9 (September 1988), pp. 6-7. Author.

"The Polish Ultimatum to Lithuania: The Despatch of Lithuanian Minister J. Baltrusaitis in Moscow." Lituanus, 31, 4 (Winter 1985), pp. 23-46. Translated and annotated.

"The Polish-Lithuanian Crisis of 1938: Events Surrounding the Ultimatum." Lituanus, 30, 2 (Summer 1984), pp. 43-73. Author. Reviewed by Anna M. Cienciala, "'Lituanus' o stosunkach polsko-litewskich" ("'Lituanus' and Polish-Lithuanian Relations"), Kultura, December 1984, pp. 97-99. Kultura is published in Paris, France by the Polish Instytut Literacki.

"Vilniaus universitetas lenku okupacijoje" ("Vilnius University During the Polish Occupation"). Draugas, 2 October 1982, cultural supplement, pp. 1-4. Author.

BOOK REVIEWS

Eidintas, Alfonsas. Antanas Smetona and His Lithuania: From the National Liberation Movement to an Authoritarian Regime (1893-1940). Leiden: Brill Rodopi, 2015. Reviewed in Lituanus, 63, 1 (Spring 2017), pp. 91-93.

Norkus, Zenonas. On Baltic Slovenia and Adriatic Lithuania: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Patterns in Post-Communist Transformation. Vilnius: Apostrofa, 2012. Reviewed in Lituanus, 61, 3 (Fall 2015), pp. 89-93.

Davoliūtė, Violeta. The Making and Breaking of Soviet Lithuania: Memory and Modernity in the Wake of War. New York: Routledge, 2013. Reviewed in Russian Review, 73, 4 (October 2014), pp. 641-642.

Jeffrey T. Richelson, The U.S. Intelligence Community, 3rd edition. Boulder: Westview, 1995. Reviewed in Armed Forces & Society, 23, 2 (Winter 1996), pp. 313-315.

Snider, Don M., and Arne Olav Brundtland, eds. Nordic-Baltic Security: An International Perspective. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1994. Reviewed in Slavic Review, 55, 1 (Spring 1996), pp. 205-206.

Holt, Pat M. Secret Intelligence and Public Policy: A Dilemma of Democracy. Washington: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1995. Reviewed in Presidential Studies Quarterly, 25, 3 (Summer 1995), pp. 588-590.

Finkelstein, David M. Washington's Taiwan Dilemma, 1949-1950: From Abandonment to Salvation. Fairfax, VA: GeorgeMasonUniversity Press, 1993. Reviewed in Presidential Studies Quarterly, 25, 1 (Winter 1995), pp. 132-134.

Blacker, Coit D. Hostage to Revolution: Gorbachev and Soviet Security Policy, 1985-1991. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1993. Reviewed in Journal of Baltic Studies, 24, 3 (Fall 1993), pp. 314-315.

MccGwire, Michael. Perestroika and Soviet National Security. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1991. Reviewed in Armed Forces & Society, 19, 1 (Fall 1992), pp. 157-159.

Sabaliunas, Leonas. Lithuanian Social Democracy in Perspective. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1990. Reviewed Journal of Baltic Studies, 22, 4 (Winter 1991), 365-367.

Senn, Alfred Erich. Lithuania Awakening. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. Reviewed in Journal of Baltic Studies, 22, 2 (Summer 1991), pp. 189-191.

Oleszczuk, Thomas A. Political Justice in the USSR: Dissent and Repression in Lithuania, 1969-1987. New York: EastEuropeanMonographs & ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1988. Reviewed in Russian Review, 49, 3 (July 1990), pp. 360-361.

Kernell, Samuel. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership. Washington: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1986. Reviewed in Presidential Studies Quarterly, 16, 4 (Fall 1986), pp. 775-777.

Chubb, John E., and Paul E. Peterson, eds. The New Direction in American Politics. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1985. Reviewed in AirUniversity Review, 37, 6 (September-October 1986), p. 118.

"Is Democracy in Danger?" Review essay of Pipes, Richard. Survival is not Enough: Soviet Realities and America's Future. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984; and Revel, Jean-Francois. How Democracies Perish. New York: Doubleday, 1984. Reviewed in AirUniversity Review, 37, 1 (Nov-Dec 1985), pp. 108-112.

EDITORIAL WORK

  • Editorial Board, Armed Forces & Society, 2011 - present.
  • Referee and Book Reviewer, Armed Forces & Society, 1992 - present.
  • Editorial Committee for book by Gary Hartman, The Immigrant as Diplomat: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and the Shaping of Foreign Policy in the Lithuanian-American Community, 1870-1922. Chicago: Lithuanian Research and StudiesCenter, 2002.
  • Referee and Book Reviewer, Journal of Baltic Studies, 1991 - 1999.
  • Editor, Lituanus, 1991 - 2002.
  • Referee and Book Reviewer, Presidential Studies Quarterly, 1995 - 1998.

PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES

26th International Conference on Baltic Studies. Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, Stanford University, June 2018. Paper: “Lithuanian Research and Studies Center: The Next 100 Years.”

2018 Kosciuszko Conference, United States Military Academy, West Point, April 2018. Paper: “A Twentieth Century Miracle: Lithuania’s Transition from World War One to Independence.”

1995 - 2019 Biennial International Conferences of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, DC. Chairman, Program Committee.

2015 International Conference of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Chicago, October 2015. Chairman of the Program Committee and Chairman/Discussant of Panel: "Civil-Military Relations in Eastern Europe."

23rd International Conference on Baltic Studies. Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, April 2012. Member, Conference Committee.

2011 International Conference of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Chicago, October 2011. Chairman of the Program Committee and Chairman/Discussant of Panel: "Faith and the Force."

2009 International Conference of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Chicago, October 2011. Chairman of the Program Committee and Chairman/Discussant of Panel: "Civil-Military Relations: Theoretical Perspectives."

1995 Biennial International Conference of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Baltimore, October 1995. Chairman of the Program Committee and Chairman of Panel: "The Military and State Formation."

Fourteenth International Conference on Baltic Studies. Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, June 1994. Conference Chairman.

1993 Biennial International Conference of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Baltimore, October 1993. Member of the Program Committee and Chairman of Panel: "The Military and Society in Recently Democratized Regimes."

1992 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, 2-6 September 1992. Chairman of the panel on International Law and International Security; presented paper: "The Recognition of Lithuania: The Completion of the Legal Circle."

Sixth International Lithuanian Symposium on Arts and Sciences, Chicago, 22-26 November 1989. Chairman and paper presenter at the political science panel. Paper: "JAV Lietuvos okupacijos nepripazinimo politika" ("US Nonrecognition of the Soviet Occupation of Lithuania").

"U.S. National Security Strategy: New Challenges and Opportunities." Conference sponsored by the U.S. Army and the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Chicago, 30 September - 2 October 1988. Vice Chairman and Rapporteur.

1988 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 14-16 April 1988. Discussant: "Organizing and Staffing the Executive for Foreign Policy."

1987 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 8-11 April 1987. Discussant at the panel on: "Issues and Trends in North-South Relations."

Fifth International Lithuanian Symposium on Science and Creativity, Chicago, 27 November - 1 December 1985. Paper presented at the political science panel on independent Lithuania: "Kariuomenes vaidmens teoretiniai aspektai prezidento Smetonos laikais" ("Theoretical Aspects of Military Affairs Under President Smetona"). Also Chairman of the political science panel on occupied Lithuania.

PUBLIC APPEARANCES

Collegiate Division, Lithuanian Scouts, Los Angeles. Address: “Lithuanian Émigré Scholarship and the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center,” 23 October 2018.

“Lietuvos ir JAV santykiai Saltojo Karo metu“ (“Lithunaian-US Relations During the Cold War”), a series of lectures in Lemont, IL and Bridgeman, MI, 21 February 2016, 29 January 2017 and 3 June 2017.

Lithuanian Community of Detroit. Address, "Alfonsas Gilvydis ir Lietuvos zemes ukis" ("Alfonsas Gilvydis and Lithuania’s Agriculture"), 2 December 2012.

University of Illinois at Chicago. Lecture, “Challenges to Democracy in Interwar Lithuania,” 5 April 2011.

BalzekasMuseum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago. Address, "Sun Tsu, Machiavelli, Clausewitz and Aquinas: Philosophies of War and the Battle of Grunwald," 16 October 2010

Lithuanian Community of BeverlyShores, Indiana. Address, “Mokslo vaidmuo lietuviu tautos islaisvinime" ("The Role of Scholarship in Lithuanian National Liberation"), 21 March 2010.

Lithuanian Education Conference, Lemont, Illinois. Address, “Lietuvos politinis statusas: Nepripazinimas ir pripazinimas” (“Lithuania’s Political Status: Nonrecognition and Recognition”), 7 March 2010.

IndianaUniversity. Closing Address, Model United Nations, 5 February 1994.

BalzekasMuseum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago. Address, "Lithuanian American Political Action as a Basis for Regaining Independence," 7 May 1993.

Lithuanian Community of Detroit. Address, "JAV ir Lietuvos santykiai" ("U.S.-Lithuanian Relations"), 1 December 1991.

Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Arlington Heights, Illinois. Panelist, "The Baltic States," 15 March 1991.

Institute of Religion and Medicine, Park Ridge, Illinois. Address, "The Lithuanian Situation," 16 September 1990.

NordicHeritageMuseum, Seattle, Washington. Address, "Nonrecognition of Lithuania's Occupation," 30 August 1990.

Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Wilmette, Illinois. Address, "Lithuania: Perspectives and Predictions," 27 April 1990.

Institute of Religion and Medicine, Naperville, Illinois. Address, "The Baltic States: The Lithuanian Situation," 22 April 1990.

BalzekasMuseum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago. Address, "Lithuania and International Law," 11 April 1990.

Lithuanian American Council, Los Angeles. Address, "Mokslo vaidmuo Lietuvos istorijoje" ("The Role of Scholarship in Lithuanian History"), 18 February 1990.

Lithuanian Veterans Association, Chicago. Address, "Lietuvos pasipriesinimo klausimas 1940 m." ("The Question of Lithuanian Resistance in 1940"), 19 November 1989.

Dainava Youth Camp, Manchester, Michigan. Address, "JAV nepripazinimo politika" ("The US Policy of Nonrecognition"), 3 September 1989.

Lithuanian American Community, Chicago. Independence Day Address at the DaleyPlaza, 16 February 1989.

Lithuanian Human Services Council, Chicago. Independence Day Address, 15 Feb 1989.

Lithuanian American Council, Cicero, Illinois. Address, "Mokslo vaidmuo lietuviu tautos islaisvinime" ("The Role of Scholarship in the Liberation of the Lithuanian Nation"), 11 February 1989.

Lithuanian Community of MarquettePark, Chicago. Report on trends and needs in Lithuanian education, 24 November 1985.

Dainava Youth Camp, Manchester, Michigan. Lecture, "Marksizmas, krikscionybe ir Lietuvos istorija" ("Marxism, Christianity, and Lithuanian History"), 2 July 1985.

Collegiate Division, Lithuanian Scouts Assn. Lecture, "Kariuomenes ir visuomenes santykiai Smetonos laikotarpyje" ("Civil-Military Relations Under Smetona"), 1 Feb 1985. Shorter version: Lithuanian-American National Association, Chicago, 10 February 1985. Broadcast on "Margutis" Lithuanian radio, WCEV 1450 AM, Chicago, 15 March 1985.

Lithuanian Cultural Council, Chicago. Report on the needs of Lithuanian scholarship and the activities of the Lithuanian Research and StudiesCenter, 24 November 1984.

Lithuanian Journalists Association, Chicago. Address, "Ausra ir jaunimas" ("The Newspaper Dawn and Youth"), 4 March 1983. The address was broadcast over Lithuanian radio in Chicago and Australia. Also beamed by Vatican Radio into Lithuania.

MEDIA EXPERIENCE

  • Lithuanian Radio, Vilnius, Interviewee, Émigré Lithuanians, May 2018
  • Lithuanian Radio, Chicago. Interviewee, US Presidential Primaries, 15 January 2008.
  • Voice of America. Conducted program review of the Lithuanian Service, January 1995.
  • Radio Free Europe. Interviewee, Civil-Military Relations in Lithuania, 30 January 1992.
  • Post-News Cable Television. Panelist, "The Lithuanian Resistance," 5 September 1990.
  • Clifford Kelley Show, WGCI AM. Interviewee, Situation in Lithuania, 13 April 1990.
  • Independent TV News, London. Interviewee, Situation in Lithuania, 27 January 1990.
  • Knight-Ridder Newspapers. Interviewee, Situation in Lithuania, 16 January 1990.
  • Voice of America. Interviewee, Lithuanian military, 29 November 1985.

MILITARY SERVICE

United States Army Reserve. Served as an enlisted man, noncommissioned officer and commissioned officer, U.S. ArmyCivil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, 1996-2002.

Office of Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. Served on advisory teams dealing with Army strategy and officer education, 1988 - 1990.

OTHER EXPERIENCE AND ACTIVITY

Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, Inc., Chicago. Chairman of the Board, 2010-present; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, 1990-2010.

Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, University of Chicago. Executive Director, 2003-present; Assistant Executive Director and Treasurer, 1987-2003.

Dental Philanthropy Network. President, 2015-2017; Treasurer, 2010-2015; Vice President, 2006-2008; Board of Directors 2005-2008, 2010-2017.

Lithuanian Museum of Art, Lemont, IL. Chairman of the Board, 2014-present.

Vydunas Youth Fund, Inc., Chicago. Vice Chairman of the Board, 2018-present; Member of the Board, 2014-present.

Association Foundation Group, Board of Directors, 2015-2017.

Association of Fundraising Professionals, Chicago Chapter. Member, Education Council, 2016-2018; Member, Leadership Program Development Task Force, 2014-2015; Program presenter on Change Management, Midwest Conference on Philanthropy, 2015.

Boy Scouts of America, Batavia, IL. Cub Scout Pack Committee Chairman, 2004-2010.

Association Forum of Chicagoland. Member, Awards & Recognition Committee, 2011-2014; Chairman, Certified Association Executive Working Group, 2011-2012; Member, 2010-2011; Chairman of Professional Practices Committee, 2009-2010; Task Force Chair, 2007-2009; Chairman of Fundraising & Development Shared Interest Group, 2005-2007; Editorial Content Working Group, 2003-2006.

Boy Scouts of America Troop 113, Lemont IL / Lithuanian Scouts Association, Inc. Various positions, including president of the "Lituanica" Boy Scouts Council, Chicago, during 1990-1993. Currently Advancement Chair.

Lithuanian Foundation, Inc., Chicago. Board of Directors, 2005-2008; Chair of Development Committee, 2006-2008; Scholarship Subcommittee, 1992; Grants Committee and Scholarship Subcommittee, 1986 - 1990.

International Lithuanian Symposium on Arts and Sciences, Chicago. Board of Directors, 1992 - 1997.

Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. Vice President for Publications, 1994 - 1996; Vice President for Conferences, 1992 - 1994.

Lithuanian Youth Center, Chicago. Member & Secretary, Board of Directors, 1986 - 1989, 2016 - present.

Lithuanian-American Community of the USA, Inc. Board of Directors, 1985-1988.

LoyolaUniversity of Chicago, College of Arts and Sciences. Honors Program Scholarship Committee, 1984.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Lithuanian Independence Centennial Medal, National Guard of Lithuania, Vilnius, 2018.

John C. Thiel Distinguished Service Award, Association Forum of Chicagoland, 2011.

Association Programming Achievement Award, Association Forum of Chicagoland, 2005.

LithuanianCatholicAcademy of Sciences Award, Rome, Italy, October 1988. Awarded for historical treatment of Lithuania in doctoral dissertation.

Jakubenas Foundation Doctoral Scholarship Award, August 1988.

Arthur J. Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship, September 1987-June 1988. Awarded by the Schmitt Foundation and LoyolaUniversityto fund full-time dissertation research.

Vydunas Fund Award for community service, April 1987.

Paul Woelfl Award, May 1984. Awarded to the distinguished graduating senior in Political Science, LoyolaUniversity.

Honorable Mention, Graduate Fellowship Competition, National Science Foundation, 1984.

Recipient of Dean's Certificate in recognition of outstanding scholarship all eight semesters of undergraduate work, 1980-1984. College of Arts and Sciences, LoyolaUniversity.

Lithuanian Foundation Scholarship. 1982, 1983.

LoyolaUniversity Scholarship. 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983.

IllinoisState Scholarship. 1980, 1981.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Alpha Sigma Nu national Jesuit honor fraternity.
  • American Society of Association Executives.
  • Association Forum of Chicagoland.
  • Association Foundation Group
  • Association of Fundraising Professionals.
  • Dental Philanthropy Network.
  • Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society.
  • LithuanianCatholicAcademy of Sciences, Rome.
  • Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor fraternity.
  • Pritzker Military Library.

PERSONAL

Born:12 September 1962 in Chicago, Illinois.

Married:29 May 1993 to Gaile Antanaitis Vitas.

Children:Paulius Juozas Vitas; Andrius Jonas Vitas.

Fluent:English, Lithuanian.