Comings and Goings: Prez picks patent principal

Every Monday on GovExec.com, Comings and Goings announces the arrivals and departures of top federal managers and executives. To submit an announcement, e-mail it to ksaldarini@govexec.com or fax it to 202-739-8511.

President Clinton has nominated Q. Todd Dickinson, an intellectual property lawyer, to be assistant secretary of commerce and commissioner of patents and trademarks. Dickinson has been the acting patent and trademark guru since the beginning of the year, when Bruce A. Lehman left.

George R. Molaski, chairman of the City of Falls Church Economic Development Authority, has been appointed the first Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Molaski brings lots of IT experience to his post. Most recently he was president of WritersClub.com, an Internet electronic commerce site, and he has held a number of senior management positions in information technology-based businesses.

Helen Kavanaugh, chief of media relations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is retiring after thirty years of government service. Kavanaugh has spent all of her career working in public affairs for the U.S. Air Force.

Delia Pompa, director of the Department of Education's Office of Bilingual Education, is leaving government to join the National Association of Bilingual Education as executive director. Pompa originally came to Washington to work for the Children's Defense Fund. She has been at Education for three and a half years.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert H. Foglesong has been nominated to be commander of the Twelfth Air Force Air Combat Command, the U.S. Southern Command Air Forces, and Air Force Component commander of United States Strategic Command, at Davis-Monthan Air Force base, Ariz. Foglesong is currently serving as assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. He will replace Lt. Gen. Lansford E. Trapp Jr., who has been nominated to take over as vice commander of the Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

Kudos to the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of 43 organizations worldwide that qualified for The Institute of Internal Auditors' Commitment to Quality Improvement Award. The award recognizes internal auditing departments that excel in professional excellence, quality of service and professional outreach. The IIA is a professional association with almost 70,000 members in internal auditing, governance, internal control, IT audit, education and security.