Speculation that a UT dean is under consideration for the national security advising position in President-elect Barack Obama’s administration is causing excitement among UT administration, faculty and students.
Several newspapers have reported that James Steinberg, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, is being considered for Obama’s administration. Steinberg served as Obama’s foreign policy adviser during the president-elect’s 2008 campaign and was deputy national security adviser to former President Bill Clinton.
Steinberg did not return several calls from The Daily Texan to comment on the reports of his presence on Obama’s short list.
“I find dean Steinberg to be an extremely talented person and would not in the least be surprised to see him seriously considered for such an appointment,” said former UT President Larry Faulkner.
Faulkner said Steinberg has been an ambitious leader of the school of public affairs and brought energy to many of the school’s programs, particularly those relating to international relations.
“Dean Steinberg is a very talented man with deep knowledge of public affairs at a national and international level,” he said. “Talent like that is hard to get, and you can’t avoid missing it if you lose it.”
Faulkner said that while it will be a sacrifice for the University, UT will be able to attract new leadership if Steinberg leaves for the White House.
“Like nearly everyone at UT, I would prefer we’d not have to see him go,” Faulkner said. “But on the other hand if he could serve the new administration the nation would be better for it.”
If Steinberg is appointed to the position, there is a possibility he will be unable to return to the University as a dean. According to UT’s Operating Handbook, the maximum leave that can be approved for faculty is one academic year.
A second year of leave may be granted for public service, as it enhances an employee’s ability to contribute to the University, according to the handbook.
Faulkner said four years is too long for the school to have an interim dean, so new leadership will be necessary.
Provost Steven Leslie said in an e-mail that the University will not consider a search for the new dean until Steinberg’s consideration for national security adviser becomes more than speculation.
“We are honored that a dean from the University of Texas at Austin has been so prominently mentioned in news reports as someone being considered for the president-elect’s team in the White House,” Leslie said. “At this time, however, we know nothing more than what has been published in these news reports, and we’re just very pleased to have James Steinberg here as dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.”
Public affairs graduate student Barksdale English took a class with Steinberg last semester and participates in regular meetings with the dean, as he is on the executive team of the Graduate Public Affairs Council.
“First of all, he’s brilliant,” English said. “He has brought a lot of national attention to the school. Using his contacts from the Clinton administration, he’s brought in a lot of speakers for the school.”
English said Steinberg made himself very accessible to students through his office hours and regular morning “coffee with the dean” sessions. He said the way Steinberg answered questions and the way he critically graded assignments and papers in class showed he was trying to help students improve.
“The loss of his leadership will be immediately felt,” English said. “But at the very least students here can say, ‘Hey, the national security adviser was my teacher.’”
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