Chris Gibson, Columbia County resident, Siena College President, 3-term Congressman, to be honored by Boy Scouts

CASTLETON-ON-HUDSON, NY (06/02/2021) Chris Gibson, a three-term Congressman, retired Army colonel and now President of Siena College, will be honored by the Twin Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America during its Columbia County Good Scout Award Dinner on June 17.

Gibson is a Kinderhook resident who grew up in Columbia County, graduated from Ichabod Crane High School, and then went on to graduate from Siena College, where he was commissioned as an Army officer through ROTC.

He was also once a Scout in Troop 113 which still serves youth in Kinderhook.

The annual dinner recognizes Columbia County residents who exemplify the Scouting ideals of service to God, country and the community.

The dinner, held at Birch Hill Estate in Castleton-on-Hudson, will also raise funds for local Scouting units.

The Twin Rivers Council provides Scouting to thousands of young people from Columbia County to the Canadian border in eastern New York. Despite the pandemic, local Scouting volunteers have been delivering the benefits of the Scouting program through innovative programs like a week-long "Stay Camp" where kids could do Scout activities at home and on-line merit badge counseling sessions.

"The Good Scout Award has a long history in Columbia County," said Dr. Stephen Krizar, a local Scouting volunteer who is one of the event organizers.

"With his service to our country in the Army and Congress, and now his service as president of Siena College, nobody exemplifies service more than Chris Gibson who has continued to make Columbia County his home," Krizar added.

The dinner kicks off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 17 at Birch Hills Estate at 1 Celebration Way in Castleton-on-Hudson. Cost for a ticket is $95 and can be purchased online here: https://trcscouting.org/cocogsad/

Gibson was appointed the 12th President of Siena College on July 1, 2020. He is the first permanent lay leader in Siena's history, and also serves on the faculty as a professor of leadership.

He is a member of the Hoover Institution's Working Group on the Role of Military History in Contemporary Conflict, and a visiting fellow with the Catholic University's Center for the Study of Statesmanship. He was the Stanley Kaplan Distinguished Visiting Professor of American Foreign Policy at Williams College from 2017-20.

From 2011 to 2017, Gibson served in the House of Representatives. He was one of the co-chairs of the bi-partisan "No Labels" caucus which sought to work across the aisle with members of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

After graduating from Sienna College in 1986, Gibson served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army for 29 years. He eventually rose to the rank of colonel, commanding the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade.

Gibson served four combat tours in Iraq, was part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and in 2010 led his brigade to Haiti on a humanitarian relief mission following an earthquake there.

Gibson holds a B.A. in history from Siena, and an M.A., M.P.A. and Ph.D. in government, all from Cornell University.

He and his wife, Mary Jo have three children.