Alumna Margaret Scobey was appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Syrian Arab Republic following her December 9, 2003, confirmation by the US Senate for the post. She earned the bachelor’s degree in history in 1971 and earned the master’s in history in 1973. She pursued doctoral work at the University of Michigan. When appointed, she was serving as deputy chief of mission at the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She has also served as director of the Office of the Arabian Peninsula at the Department of State and as deputy chief of mission in Sanaa, Yemen, and as political counselor at the US Embassy in Kuwait. She was recalled indefinitely on February 14, 2005, following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Baha Deen Al Hariri. She was nominated by President George W. Bush as Ambassador to Egypt on January 23, 2008, and confirmed by the Senate on March 14, 2008. She served until 2011. In 2010 she was the featured speaker at the Howard Baker Center Ambassadorial Lecture Series and received the UT Accomplished Alumna Award.