Obama Taps Alum for State Dept. Post
MADISON, NJ—Drew alumnus and trustee Arturo Valenzuela was recently nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the U.S. state department’s top diplomat overseeing Western Hemisphere affairs. Valenzuela, who graduated from Drew’s College of Liberal Arts in 1965, plans to step down as a university trustee as he prepares to assume his new position.
Valenzuela, who is currently the director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, served in the administration of President Bill Clinton as a special assistant and senior director for inter-American affairs at the National Security Council. He also served under Clinton as the deputy assistant secretary for inter-American affairs in the U.S. Department of State, where he was primarily responsible for the U.S.’s diplomatic relations with Mexico.
He is considered to be an expert in the origins and consolidation of democracy; the institutional dimensions of democratic governance; Latin American politics; and U.S.-Latin American relations. He holds doctoral and master’s degrees from Columbia University, and a BA in political science and religion from Drew.
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Posted: May 18, 2009
