Christopher S. Roman, 57; Educator At Military Institutions Specialized in IT

Christopher S. Roman, 57, who taught information technology and acquisition management at military institutions, died May 26 of leukemia at Capital Hospice in Arlington County. He lived in Springfield.

Dr. Roman was born in Montgomery, Ala., and lived on Air Force bases in the United States and Japan with his family while growing up. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., and attended Stanford University before graduating from the University of Maryland in 1973.

He received a master's degree in management information systems from American University in 1982 and a doctorate in information and decision systems from George Washington University in 1991. He received a second master's degree, in national security, from the Naval War College in 2004.

Dr. Roman began his career as an operations research specialist for the Air Force in 1973, working at the Pentagon. From 1985 to 1992, he was an operations research specialist for the General Services Administration, providing information technology support to federal clients, including the FBI and the Department of Commerce.

He was a professor at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington from 1992 to 1997, teaching information technology to students from the federal government and the private sector. He was chairman of the systems acquisition department.

Dr. Roman was a professor of acquisition management at the Defense Acquisition University at Fort Belvoir from 1997 until his retirement in 2006. He wrote several scholarly articles, was active in the DAU Program Management Alumni Association and often coordinated special events.

He was a longtime member of Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church in Burke, where he taught Sunday school and participated in adult fellowship groups. He regularly participated in an annual retreat for Unitarians in Florida.

In addition to his professional work, Dr. Roman studied Buddhist philosophy for years and occasionally went on meditation retreats. He was a licensed massage therapist and often volunteered his time to provide massages to firefighters and health-care workers during emergencies.

He enjoyed working on computers and was co-founder of a weekly literary salon.

Survivors include his wife of 27 years, Cynthia Hunter Roman of Springfield; a daughter, Katrina Roman of Springfield; his mother, Beverly Doran of Glendale, Calif.; a brother, Mark Roman of Fairfax County; and a sister, Judith Jones of Lorton.

-- Matt Schudel