On May 23, the White House announced that President George W. Bush intends to nominate Ambassador Richard Hoagland, currently the U.S. Ambassador in Tajikistan, to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. Ambassador Hoagland is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, previously served as Director of the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State, as well as Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs. Ambassador Hoagland received his bachelor's degree from Taylor University and two master's degrees from the University of Virginia, reports the U.S. Embassy in Armenia.