Michael Gannon is the Provost at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland. He assumed this position in May 2009, after serving as the Director of Instructional Support and then, Assistant Commandant at the School. As the Provost he serves as the senior advisor to the School Commandant on matters of academic policy, governance, accreditation, and provides oversight for management of support services - course and curriculum development, registrar, quota management, school operations, logistics, budget, contracting, and personnel services. Prior to coming to the school he was assigned to the American Forces Information Service, where he served in the Directorate of Training.
He retired from active duty in the US Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in June 1995 after 24 years of active duty. His last assignment was as the Chief of the Air Force Press Desk, a position he had held since August 1990. During that assignment he deployed to Somalia for six months as the deputy director of the Joint Information Bureau, Joint Task Force Somalia. Prior to his Pentagon assignment he had served as the Chief, Media Section, Public Information Office at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons, Belgium.
Other assignments included public affairs positions in the Air Force Reserve Public Affairs Office in the Pentagon; as deputy director of public affairs for the US Readiness Command, and then later the US Special Forces Command at MacDill AFB, Florida; Headquarters Pacific Air Forces; 5th Air Force in Japan; Randolph AFB, Texas, Lackland AFB, Texas, and Bergstrom AFB, Texas.
He has an undergraduate degree in Journalism from South Dakota State University and a Masters Degree in Communications from the University of Oklahoma. In addition, he is a graduate of the Air War College and the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Va.
He currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in Journalism/ Communications for the University of Maryland, University College where he has taught for 19 years. Other teaching positions have included three years with the Los Angeles Community Colleges (Overseas) while at Yokota AB, Japan, two years with Park College at Fort Meyer in Washington, D.C. and City Colleges of Chicago in Belgium. He holds a permanent teaching certificate from the California Community College Board.
He is a past president and chairman of the board for the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association; a board member for the Baltimore Federal Executive Board; and serves as a member of the Local Federal Coordinating Committee for the Chesapeake Bay Area Combined Federal Campaign.
In 2007 he was elected to serve a three-year term as a Commissioner for the Council on Occupational Education. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and was selected for membership in Alpha Epsilon Rho (National Honorary Radio and Television Society) and Kappa Tau Alpha, (National Honorary Society for Journalism majors).
Mike and his wife Kelley live in Silver Spring, Maryland. They have four sons.