Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) to Lead the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) was named President, CEO, and Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars by the Center's Board of Trustees. The announcement was made today by Ambassador Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chairman of the Board.

Harman will assume her new duties leading the nation's living, national memorial to President Woodrow Wilson on February 28, 2011. She succeeds Lee H. Hamilton who stepped down in November 2010 after leading the institution for nearly 12 years.

"The time is right for a new challenge, and this is the right challenge," said Harman. "The privilege of representing the people of California's 36th Congressional District will likely never be surpassed, and I am grateful to my constituents, staff, and colleagues in the House. But the opportunity to lead and shape the direction of the country's premier policy incubator – one with international reach and influence – is a thrilling next step for me."

"The Center's nature provides the flexibility and access to leaders in government, industry and academia to promote a bipartisan, national dialogue on the day's most pressing foreign and domestic policy matters," Harman added. "In assuming this role, I recognize and salute the enormous contribution of outgoing President and Director, and my congressional colleague, Lee Hamilton. He is truly one of the country's wise men, and I will rely on his counsel to provide continuity and inspire confidence in the Center's future."

"We on the Board of Trustees are thrilled to introduce Representative Jane Harman as the President, CEO, and Director of the Wilson Center," Ambassador Gildenhorn said. "Jane Harman brings an extraordinarily high level of leadership and knowledge to the Center that will propel this great institution to even higher standards of excellence. She has the strategic vision to advance the Center's mission to promote a greater understanding of the most pressing public policy issues facing this nation. Representative Harman is highly respected in the United States and internationally and will be the public face and voice of the Wilson Center, bridging, in the Wilsonian tradition, the worlds of policy and scholarship."

Ambassador Gildenhorn added: "I want to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador Charles Cobb, who served as Chairman of the Search Committee, as well as the other Committee members who worked diligently over several months reviewing and interviewing several excellent candidates and then forwarding its recommendation to the Board. We are indebted to the entire Search Committee for its thorough work that led to today's announcement." (See below for a full listing of the members of the Search Committee.)

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the national, living memorial honoring President Woodrow Wilson. In providing an essential link between the worlds of ideas and public policy, the Center addresses current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world. The Center promotes policy-relevant research and dialogue to increase understanding and enhance the capabilities and knowledge of leaders, citizens, and institutions worldwide. Created by an Act of Congress in 1968, the Center is a nonpartisan institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., and supported by both public and private funds.

SEARCH COMMITTEE 2010

• Honorable Charles E. Cobb, Jr.: Trustee; former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland; former Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; former Chairman of the Board, University of Miami. (Committee Chairman)
• Dr. James H. Billington: Trustee; Librarian of Congress; former Rhodes scholar; former Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
• Dr. Carol Cartwright: former Trustee; Chair, Wilson Center Board of Trustees Fellowship Committee; President, Bowling Green State University; former President, Kent State University.
• Sander Gerber: Trustee (Vice Chair); Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Bay Capital Management.
• Honorable Joseph B. Gildenhorn: Trustee (Chairman); Founder of The JBG Companies; Chairman of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation; former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland.
• Honorable Charles L. Glazer: Trustee; Founder of C.L. Glazer and Company, Inc.; former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador.
• Senator Bob Graham: Chairman of the Board of Oversight, Bob Graham Center for Public Service, University of Florida;  former U.S. Senator from Florida; former Chairman, U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence;  former Governor of Florida.
• Honorable William H. Gray: Co-Chair, GrayLoeffler Consulting;  former President and CEO, United Negro College Fund;  former U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
• Ambassador Marc Grossman: Vice-Chairman, The Cohen Group;  Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars;  former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey;  former Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs;  former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
• Honorable Carlos Gutierrez: Trustee; Chairman, Global Political Strategies, APCO Worldwide;  former Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce;  former Chairman of the Board and CEO, The Kellogg Company.
• Susan Hutchison: Trustee; Executive Director, Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences; former adjunct professor, Seattle Pacific University MBA program;  former TV news anchor, Puget Sound region.
• Barry Jackson: Trustee;  Chief of Staff to the Republican Leader, U.S. House of Representatives;  former Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs, The White House.
• Dr. Robert S. Litwak: Vice President for Programs and Director, International Security Studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars;  adjunct professor, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
• Ignacio E. Sanchez:  Trustee; Partner, DLA Piper LLP.
• Dr. Donna Shalala: former Trustee; President, University of Miami; former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; former Chancellor, University of Wisconsin - Madison.

HONORARY ADVISORS

• Honorable Madeleine Albright: former Trustee, former Secretary of State
• Honorable James A. Baker, III: former Trustee, former Secretary of State
• General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.): former Trustee, former Secretary of State
• Honorable Condoleezza Rice: former Trustee, former Secretary of State

SOURCE Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars