Tomorrow I anticipate that President-elect Obama will announce his intention to nominate me for the position of Deputy Secretary of State, an honor for which I am deeply appreciative. If confirmed (and as all good LBJ’ers know, it would be the height of hubris to presume how the Senate might act on my nomination), it will be a great privilege to serve with President Obama, Secretary of State-designate Clinton and the entire national security team at this time of great challenge but also of great opportunity for the United States and the world.
Public service is at the heart of our mission, and in taking up this position I follow in the footsteps of so many LBJ faculty and alumni who have and continue to answer the call. I’m delighted to be able to join our colleague Jeanne Lambrew and LBJ Foundation Board member Tom Daschle in the new administration, and express my appreciation to Ben Sasse, who has served so ably at HHS during the Bush administration.
The past three years as Dean of the LBJ School have been among the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am grateful for the support and encouragement that my family and I have received from every element of our community – students, staff, faculty, alumni, the LBJ Foundation, colleagues at UT and friends of the School. Together, we have built on the LBJ School’s great tradition to establish an even stronger foundation for the School’s future. Through our new MGPS degree program and our enhancements to the MPAff and PhD programs, new research centers, including the Strauss Center and the Center for Politics and Governance, strengthened fellowship support and alumni outreach, new faculty hires and, not least, the long awaited renovation of our facility, the LBJ School is poised to remain one of the most influential schools of public affairs for years to come.
We have come far, but there is even more we can accomplish together. It is my hope and plan to return to the LBJ School following my time in Washington to continue to work with you all in this exciting endeavor. Over the next few weeks I will be talking with President Powers, Provost Leslie and the LBJ Foundation about our own “transition” arrangements, including what I believe will be a very exciting approach to teaching the course I planned to offer this spring. I expect to be in and out of Austin between now and the inauguration, and plan to hold a get together at the School during the first week of class in January to discuss the transition and to hear your thoughts about keeping the School moving forward.
I look forward to staying in touch with you all, and supporting (consistent with all the appropriate conflict-of-interest caveats!) the work of the School while I am at the State Department.
Thank you again for your friendship and support.
Jim
