Before assuming his duties as The Gwinnett Chamber of commerce President and CEO, Kaufman served as President of Georgia Gwinnett College from 205-2013. Prior to GGC Dan was a brigadier general in the U.S. Army, serving as dean of the Academic Board and chief academic officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, a position from which he retired in June 2005. In his capacity as the chief academic officer, he was responsible for the design and implementation of the academic program at West Point. Previously, Brigadier General Kaufman served as professor and head of the Department of Social Sciences, and director of International Relations and National Security Studies. A prolific author, his most recent book is Understanding International Relations. 

 

Kaufman graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1968 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Armor. He also holds a master’s of public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a doctorate in philosophy in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Studies Association, and the American Political Science Association. Upon retirement from active duty, Kaufman was honored by the British government as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.).     

 

Kaufman’s military service includes tours with cavalry and armor units in the United States and Vietnam, where he received the Bronze Star for heroism and two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained during combat. He also has served as a member of the National Security Council staff in the White House and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  He served as a Special Assistant to three Chiefs of Staff of the Army.  He also was a member of the Department of Defense Presidential Transition Team in 1992. Brigadier General Kaufman also was engaged extensively in the development of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan, which opened in Kabul in April 2005.

 

An active member of the Gwinnett community, Kaufman is a member of the boards of directors of the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services, the Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia, and of the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation.  He also serves on the board of trustees of Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville and the Partnership Gwinnett Steering Committee.