The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy is the oldest constituent college of the National Defense University (NDU) and one of the United States' premier institutions for educating senior military officers and civilian leaders in the strategic management of national resources. Its history reflects the evolution of American national security—from industrial mobilization during the World Wars to today's focus on integrated national security strategy, defense industrial resilience, and whole-of-government competition.

The school's origins date to 1924, when the U.S. Army established the Army Industrial College in response to the logistical and industrial shortcomings experienced during World War I. Military leaders recognized that future conflicts would require not only effective military operations but also the ability to mobilize the nation's industrial base, workforce, transportation systems, and economic resources. The new college was created to educate senior officers in industrial mobilization, procurement, and strategic planning. Bernard M. Baruch, who chaired the War Industries Board during World War I, played an influential role in shaping the institution's early vision.

Among its notable early students was Major Dwight D. Eisenhower, who graduated from the college in 1933 and later served as a faculty member. His education at the college contributed to his understanding of the relationship between military operations and industrial power—knowledge that proved invaluable during World War II as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and later as President of the United States.

The college suspended operations following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 so that its faculty and students could support the war effort. It reopened in 1943, and the experiences of World War II reinforced the importance of joint planning and national resource management. In 1946, the institution was renamed the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) and relocated to Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C., alongside the newly established National War College. Two years later, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal placed ICAF under the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, transforming it from an Army institution into a joint professional military education school serving all of the armed services.

Throughout the Cold War, ICAF broadened its curriculum beyond wartime mobilization to encompass defense economics, logistics, acquisition, technology, and resource management. As the United States became engaged in increasingly complex global operations, the college emphasized the integration of military capabilities with economic, industrial, diplomatic, and technological elements of national power. The student body also expanded to include civilian officials from across the federal government as well as international fellows from allied and partner nations.

In 1976, ICAF became one of the two founding colleges of the newly established National Defense University, joining the National War College. The creation of NDU unified several senior defense educational institutions under a single university dedicated to preparing leaders for joint and interagency national security responsibilities.

The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 significantly expanded the emphasis on joint professional military education. In response, ICAF strengthened its curriculum in joint operations, defense acquisition, and resource strategy. The college also became the Department of Defense's principal institution for educating senior acquisition professionals through programs developed in partnership with the Defense Acquisition University.

Congress authorized the college to award the Master of Science in National Resource Strategy in 1993, with the first degrees conferred in 1994. This milestone recognized the institution's graduate-level academic rigor and reinforced its role as both a professional military education institution and an accredited graduate school.

Recognizing that modern national security extends well beyond industrial mobilization, the college was renamed the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy on September 6, 2012. The new name honored President Eisenhower's enduring legacy while reflecting a broader mission that integrates strategy with the management of national resources, industrial capacity, defense acquisition, technology, and economic security.

Today, the Eisenhower School educates senior military officers, federal civilian leaders, and international fellows to develop and implement national security strategy by effectively evaluating, marshaling, and managing the resources required to achieve U.S. strategic objectives. Its curriculum combines studies in national security strategy with economics, defense acquisition, logistics, industrial base analysis, supply chain resilience, innovation, and strategic leadership. A distinctive feature of the program remains its Industry Studies Program, which examines critical sectors of the U.S. and global industrial base to better understand how industry supports national defense and economic competitiveness.

After more than a century of educating national security leaders, the Eisenhower School continues to fulfill the vision that inspired its founding in 1924: preparing leaders who understand that military power depends not only on armed forces, but also on the effective integration of economic strength, industrial capacity, technological innovation, and strategic resource management.