Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has named Steven T. Schanzer as the new director of the Defense Security Service. He replaces Margaret R. Munson who retired last week.

Schanzer has previously held significant positions in the Defense Security Service, formerly known as the Defense Investigative Service. He became DSS chief operating officer in 1997 after serving as the principal deputy director of the agency. From 1993-96, he served as the director, Intelligence Systems Secretariat on the director of Central Intelligence's Community Management staff. Schanzer's experience also includes assignments with the Defense Information Systems Agency as acquisition director (1992-93) and with the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1980-1992, leaving that agency as the director for Information Services.

Schanzer's experience in the private sector included technical staff service with Analytic Services (ANSER), a federal contract research center in Washington, D.C., in 1974 and with Western Electric Company (1965-67) where he developed processes for the manufacture of solid-state transistors and integrated circuits. He also founded Cybernetics Corp., a company specializing in software development and computing services.

Schanzer has been the recipient of numerous government awards, including the DIA Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Senior Executive Association's Executive Achievement Award, and the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive, among others.

The new director attended the University of Missouri, receiving a bachelor of science degree with honors in physics in 1964. He has a master of science degree in computer science from the University of Kansas (1972) and finished all but his dissertation for a doctorate in the same discipline. In addition, Schanzer received a master of science degree in operations research from George Mason University in 1988.

Schanzer was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 4, 1942. He and his wife, Rosalyn, reside in Fairfax Station, Va.; they have two children, Adam and Kim.

The Defense Security Service is responsible for personnel security investigations within the Department of Defense, managing the defense portion of the national security industrial program, and conducting personnel security research activities.