Simmons College

Tom Hull was Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone (2004-2007) where he assisted the country's evolution from peacekeeping to peace building. Throughout his 31-year diplomatic career, which also included assignments in Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Czechoslovakia, Somalia, Burkina Faso, and Congo, he was involved in issues of conflict and peace, revolution and transformation, and democracy and development. He was Director of African Affairs at the U.S. Information Agency (1995-97) before it merged with the Department of State. His career began as a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher in Sierra Leone (1968-70).

Ambassador Hull's contributions during and following the collapse of communism in Prague earned him a Presidential Meritorious Service Award from President Clinton. While there, he founded the Fulbright Commissions for Educational Exchange with the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Before joining the Foreign Service, he assisted former Senator J. William Fulbright at the Institute of International Education in New York.

Ambassador Hull has a B.A. (history) from Dickinson College. His graduate degrees from Columbia University include an M.A. (education and international affairs), a Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.), and the Certificate of the Institute of African Studies. He was an Ed.D. (ABD) candidate at Columbia when he joined the Foreign Service.

Ambassador Hull has received many professional and humanitarian awards as well as recognition in Who's Who in American Politics.