Department Head - Department of Intelligence and Security Studies

Dr. Melissa Graves

Dr. Melissa Graves is an Associate Professor in the Department of Intelligence and Security Studies at The Citadel and currently serves as the interim head of the department. Her research areas include national security legal issues, the US presidency’s relationship to the intelligence community, and intelligence analysis. She teaches a variety of courses on intelligence and legal issues. Her book, Nixon’s FBI: Hoover, Watergate, and a Bureau in Crisis, evaluates the historically complex and oftentimes fraught relationships between the President, Attorney General, and FBI Director.

Dr. Graves has published articles in the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, IALEIA Journal of Intelligence Analysis, Social Science Quarterly, Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, and Security Journal. She authored a chapter on FBI historiography in Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography Since 1945 (Edinburgh University Press, eds. Christopher R. Moran and Christopher J. Murphy, 2012). She is a coauthor of Introduction to Intelligence Studies, 2^nd Edition (Taylor and Francis, Carl Jensen, David McElreath, and Melissa Graves, 2017).

Prior to her position at The Citadel, Dr. Graves served in a variety of functions at The University of Mississippi’s Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, including most recently as Interim Director. She has presented at conferences held by the International Studies Association, the Five Eyes Analytic Workshop, and the International Association for Intelligence Education. Dr. Graves also serves as an American Council on Education faculty evaluator for military programs.

Prior to beginning work at CISS in 2008, Dr. Graves held internships at the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office and King’s College London’s Institute for Criminal Policy Research. She retains inactive bar status in Texas.

Degrees

Ph.D. History (The University of Mississippi)
M.A. History (The University of Mississippi)
J.D. (The Univeristy of Mississippi)
B.A. English and Communication (Hardin-Simmons University, summa cum laude)