Former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is set to join Columbia University as a professor of global affairs at its School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) from February 1.
A major announcement appeared on Thursday that Hillary Clinton, the former US Secretary of State, has decided to join Columbia University as a professor of global affairs at its School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The announcement about the new position for Clinton was made by the president of the university Lee Bollinger, who said in a statement:
“Given her extraordinary talents and capacities together with her singular life experiences, Hillary Clinton is unique, and, most importantly, exceptional in what she can bring to the University’s missions of research and teaching, along with public service and engagement for the public good.”
Hillary Clinton had been the secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 during the tenure of former President Barack Obama and also contested the Presidential elections of 2016.
Clinton is set to assume her new position on 1 February and, according to reports from Bollinger, will be working alongside Keren Yarhi-Milo, the dean of SIPA, besides other senior members of the faculty on a “variety of major initiatives”.
Yarhi-Milo appears candid about Clinton’s recruitment to the university and said: “Secretary Clinton will help us deliver on our mission to educate a new generation of principled policy leaders and generate innovative ideas grounded in research.” She further added, “Starting in the 2023–24 academic year, students will have the opportunity to engage with and learn from her in the classroom, benefiting from her unparalleled experience in foreign and domestic policy.” She believes, Clinton’s addition to the university will consequently result in a “major new Sipa effort to convene the best policy minds from around the world for robust debate and collaboration aimed at developing innovative policy solutions”.
Hillary Clinton, who became the First Lady when her husband Bill Clinton was elected president from 1993 to 2001, and who herself rose to political fame as a U.S. senator from 2001 to 2009, is to be a part of the Columbia World Projects, which is a university-wide initiative aimed at linking the research capabilities of the university with an array of global needs.
Some of Clinton’s specific roles would include helping Columbia Global, international research outposts of the university, and working with the CWP to explore “fundamental questions” on how to advance the renewal of democracy and reinforce greater engagement with youth and women globally and internally.
When asked about her upcoming appointment, Clinton seemed quite stoked to be taking up the new position and announced that she felt “honored” to be joining the university, and added: “Columbia’s commitment to educating the next generation of US and global policy leaders, translating insights into impact, and helping to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges resonates personally with me. I look forward to contributing to these efforts.”
Throughout her career, Clinton has received a number of honorary doctorate degrees, the first being in the mid-1980s from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Her latest achievement in that line was receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degree from Columbia University in 2022.
