Margaret “Peg” Sanders received the Ruth Murray Underhill Teaching Award at the University of Denver’s Convocation in October 2009.
The award — in its 10th year — is given annually to an adjunct professor who demonstrates teaching excellence.
Sanders, a senior fellow at the Institute on Globalization and Security at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and deputy director of the SIÉ Center for International Security and Diplomacy, teaches courses on intelligence, diplomacy, ethics and national security.
But teaching was not always on her agenda.
Prior to joining DU in 2003, Sanders worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, where she held several senior executive positions in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations. Her extensive experience includes national security, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism.
After more than 20 years at the CIA, Sanders retired to Boulder in 2002. She says Korbel Dean Tom Farer convinced her to join the faculty at DU.
“After I retired from the CIA, I never thought I would have a second career in teaching,” she says. “It has been such a rewarding experience, and being recognized for teaching is icing on the cake. The students and faculty have been a great pleasure to work with.”
She says 9/11 changed the way the United States approaches national security. But even at that time, DU had already begun to develop one of the most extensive programs in homeland security in the nation.
Sanders adds that careers in intelligence are important to the nation’s future and global stability, but having a solid foundation is essential.
“The best way to start a career in intelligence is to get the very best education possible in international relations,” she says.