Robert G. Stantion was the director of the National Park Service from 1997-2001 and its first African American director. He is a senior fellow at Texas A&M University in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences.

Education:
BA, Huston-Tillotson University

Personal:
He and his wife Janet have two children.

Background:
Stanton began his government career in 1962 as a seasonal ranger at Grand Teton National Park. He served as a ranger, superintendent, deputy regional director, assistant director and as regional director of the National Capital Region. In 1997, President Clinton made Stanton the first African American to head the National Park Service. He led the bureau - a network of nearly 400 natural, cultural and recreation sites across the United States - until 2001.

Board member, Freedom Forum
Board member, Newseum
Recipient, Interior Department, Distinguished Service Award, 1987
Carter G. Woodson History Maker Award, Association for Study of African American Life and History, 2002.
The 2001 Chair Award, Natural Resources Council of America, 2001.
Fred M. Packard International Parks Merit Award, IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, 2001.
Outstanding Achievement Conservation Award, Accokeek Foundation, 2001.
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) Elizabeth Titus Putnam Founder’s Award, The Student Conservation Association, Inc., 2000.
Ellis Island Medal of Honor, National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, 2000.
Heritage Award of Outstanding Public Service, Radford University, Radford, Virginia, 2000.
The Youth Corps Federal Champion Award, National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, 1998.
Presidential Citation, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, 1998.
Presidential Award, Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, Inc., 1997.
The Wally Cox Environmental Leadership Award, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 1997.
Outstanding Hero Award for Leadership in Parks, Recreation and Conservation, Roundtable Associates, Inc., 1997.
The Frederick Guthiem Excellence in Planning Award, American Planning Association, 1997.
The International Salute Award for National Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and "for working to keep the Dream Alive." The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., International Salute Committee, 1996.
Lincoln Medal, Ford’s Theatre Society, 1996.
Distinguished Service Award, The National Council of Negro Women’s highest award, 1994.
The President’s Rank of Distinguished Senior Executive Award, Office of the President of the United States, 1993.
The Distinguished Service Award, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s highest award, 1987.

He has been awarded three honorary doctorate degrees: Doctor of Science, Huston-Tillotson College, Austin, Texas; Doctor of Environmental Stewardship; Unity College, Unity, Maine; and Doctor of Public Policy, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Stanton has been a visiting professor at Howard University in Washington and a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environment.