Clark Kent Ervin, currently the head of Homeland Security Program at the Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...

, was the first Inspector General

Inspector General

An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...

 of the United States Department of Homeland Security

United States Department of Homeland Security

The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...

 (DHS). He was appointed on December 26, 2003, in a recess appointment

Recess appointment

A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...

 by President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. Prior to appointment, he had served as the acting inspector general since January 10, 2003. During his tenure, Ervin issued a number of reports critical of mismanagement and security flaws at the newly formed Department. In December 2004, his recess appointment expired, and the White House declined to nominate him for confirmation by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

.

The end of his term was controversial. Critics viewed the lack of White House support as retribution for Ervin's aggressive efforts to root out waste, fraud, and incompetence. For example, "I think this was a voice that was a little too critical and made the administration a little too uncomfortable," said the executive director of the Project on Government Oversight

Project on Government Oversight

The Project On Government Oversight , founded in 1981, is an independent non-profit organization in the United States which investigates and seeks to expose corruption and other misconduct. POGO assists whistleblowers and investigates federal agencies, Congress, and government contractors...

. The White House disagreed with that perspective, saying "His term expired and that's that." In May 2006, Ervin published a book -- Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack -- that gives details of his tenure at the DHS as well as his views on the current lack of preparedness for new terrorist attacks.

Prior to his service at DHS, Ervin served as the Inspector General of the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 and the Broadcasting Board of Governors

Broadcasting Board of Governors

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...

. Before his work for the Bush administration, Ervin served in Texas state government:

- From 1995 until 1999, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State of Texas.

- From 1999 until April 2001, he served as Deputy Attorney General, General Counsel, and Director of Administration in the office of then Texas Attorney General John Cornyn

John Cornyn

John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....

.

Ervin served in the first Bush White House from 1989 to 1991 as the Associate Director of Policy in the Office of National Service. He returned to his native Houston in 1991 to run for the 29th Congressional district seat, winning the Republican nomination but losing the general election.

Ervin graduated from The Kinkaid School

The Kinkaid School

The Kinkaid School is a K-12 non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States.The Kinkaid School is the oldest independent coeducational school in the Houston, Texas area . The student body is divided into the Lower School , the Middle School and the Upper School...

 in 1977, Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

 in 1980, and Harvard Law School in 1985, all with honors. Between college and law school, Ervin studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar

Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...

, earning a Masters Degree in 1982.

Ervin has practiced law in the private sector in Houston twice, first with Vinson & Elkins from 1985 to 1989, and later with Locke, Liddell & Sapp

Locke, Liddell & Sapp

Locke Lord LLP is an American law firm of approximately 650 attorneys with 11 domestic and two overseas offices. Locke Lord was formed on October 2, 2007, after the combination of Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp PLLC and Lord Bissell & Brook LLP, a national law firm headquartered in Chicago...

 from 1993-1995. Mr. Ervin is married to Carolyn A. Harris.

Ervin gets the name "Clark Kent Ervin" from his brother, Art, after the Superman

Superman

Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

 alter-ego. The brother noted that he was born a month premature and his desire to survive amidst all odds.

This article contains public domain

Public domain

Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...

 text produced by the U.S. government.

External links

• Interview on Open Target at the Pritzker Military Library
  Pritzker Military Library
  The Pritzker Military Library is a research library for the study of military history in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2003 by COL James N. Pritzker, IL ARNG to be a non-partisan institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of...