By James Irwin
Graduate School of Political Management Director Mark Kennedy has been elected to the nonpartisan think tank Council on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Kennedy, who has served as GSPM director since 2012, is a former three-term U.S. congressman from Minnesota who served as a presidentially appointed trade advisor under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. A longtime business executive with expertise in trade and U.S. foreign policy, immigration and global affairs, Mr. Kennedy also is a faculty member of the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Institute for International Economic Policy and has overseen the creation of two international-focused GSPM master’s programs in the past three years: Political Communications and Governance and Advocacy in the Global Environment.
“Membership in this distinguished organization will be highly beneficial in advancing our international programs at GW overall and specifically at the Graduate School of Political Management,” Mr. Kennedy said in a statement. “Engaging with the other members and programs of the Council on Foreign Relations will ensure that our programs reflect current developments in each region, identify excellent guest lecturers and elevate the profile of our programs with those often sought after for career advice.”
Membership on the council, he added, will help GW identify collaborators for research and programs on trade and economic freedom. The Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan membership organization and publisher, is made up of government officials, scholars, business executives, journalists, lawyers and nonprofit professionals and has roughly 4,900 members worldwide.
