Bernard F. "Buck" Shinkman

Bernard "Buck" Shinkman passed away at his home in Bethesda, MD on Monday, May 5th. Buck, a native of Washington, DC, came to Dartmouth from St. Mark's School. At the College, he was active at WDCR, Le Cercle Francaise, and the Episcopal Youth Group, which he served as Chairman our senior year. A member of the Army ROTC program, Buck served 28 years in the U.S. Army (Active and Reserve), including service in Vietnam, retiring in 1994 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

A Foreign Service Officer with both the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State, he spent 26 years in public diplomacy, serving as both the Government's Press Spokesman and as an educational and cultural affairs attaché. Buck's overseas assignments included Press Spokesman at the U.S. Embassies in London and Ottawa, and as American Center Director in Belgrade, Davao, and Accra. His assignments in Washington, D.C. included Deputy Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; Special Assistant to the Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs; Special Assistant to the Associate Director for Programs; and Country Affairs Officer for the UK, Ireland, Canada, the EC (now the EU) and the OECD in the U.S. Information Agency's Office of European Affairs.

In the fall of 2004, Buck left full-time employment at State, but continued to work for the department on a part-time basis, as an advisor on Public Diplomacy matters in the State Department's Office of eDiplomacy. He is survived by his wife Gillian, daughter Claire, and son Paul

A memorial service was held Saturday, May 10th at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington, followed by a reception for family, friends, and colleagues at the National Press Club. Attendees included Joff Keane, who sent word of Buck's passing: "A fellow Foreign Service Officer and friend who, like Jim Cason and me, spent much of his career serving Uncle Sam in Latin America, I joined an estimated 150 friends and family members of Buck at a moving memorial service celebrating Buck's life of public service." The Class has donated a book to Baker Library in Buck's memory.