Bush's U.S. Trade Rep. Returning Home to University of Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Outgoing U.S. Trade Representative, Susan C. Schwab, will return to her academic home at the University of Maryland when her term officially ends on Jan. 20.

Schwab will resume teaching duties in the Maryland School of Public Policy starting later this month. She served as dean of the School and headed the University System of Maryland Foundation before joining the Bush Administration in 2005.

"As the U.S. Trade Representative, I have had the unique opportunity to travel to nations around the globe and meet with world leaders, academics and opinion leaders to discuss the impact and importance of international trade," Ambassador Schwab says. "I look forward to sharing my insights with the talented students at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy."

Schwab will teach in the School's International Security and Economic Policy specialization track, guiding students through a research course where they must prepare an in-depth analysis and recommend action on a current policy issue.

"Having Susan back is a wonderful asset for our students," says School of Public Policy dean Steve Fetter. "As a cabinet official fresh from the White House with experience and accomplishments in such a vital area of national policy, she brings an extraordinary perspective. Our school will be extremely strong in the area of trade policy with Susan's return."

Schwab will share teaching duties with noted trade and foreign policy expert I.M. "Mac" Destler, who directs the school's program on international security and economic policy. Destler wrote the best-selling American Trade Politics and co-authored the newly released In The Shadow of the Oval Office: From JFK to Bush II: The Presidents' National Security Advisers.

SCHWAB'S ADMINISTRATION RECORD

Schwab joined the Bush administration in 2005 as the deputy U.S. Trade Representative. In June 2006, she was confirmed as the Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position with the rank of Ambassador, and took on responsibility for the development and oversight of U.S. trade policy.

In a recent op-ed written for the Washington Times, Schwab described the Bush trade legacy as "one of the great success stories of the last eight years. In this time of economic uncertainty, the United States must maintain the bold pro-growth policies promoted by the Bush Administration and continue opening markets to trade and investment."

Schwab went on to praise the Bush administration's wide expansion of Free Trade Agreements (FTA), designed to remove barriers to trade and level the playing field for the participants. Though controversial, the number of these agreements more than quadrupled to 17 in the Bush years, four of them under Schwab's leadership.

"An FTA is one of the best tools a president has for building prosperity, strengthening economies, improving workers' rights, promoting environmental protection and fostering democracy," Schwab wrote in her op-ed, calling them "the gold standard of trade agreements."

She also is credited with investment agreements with Uruguay and Rwanda, while launching negotiations with China, India and Vietnam.

BRIEF BIO

Schwab, whose father served in the U.S. Foreign Service, grew up overseas spending eight years in Africa, as well as time in Europe and Asia.

"Living in Africa gave me a sense of what poverty looks like and the need for economic development," she recently told the New York Times. In the article she identifies Robert Strauss, a U.S. Trade Representative in the Clinton Administration, as her mentor. She later served in a senior staff position on trade for former Missouri Senator John C. Danforth (R-Mo.).

Schwab also worked in the private sector handling trade issues for Motorola before coming to the University of Maryland. She served as dean of the UM School of Public Policy from 1995 to 2003. She then took a leave of absence from the school to serve as CEO of the University System of Maryland Foundation before entering the Bush administration.

Academically, Schwab has published numerous articles and a book on U.S. trade policy and legislation: Trade-Offs: Negotiation the Omnibus Trade Act, which was published in 1994.

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

The University of Maryland School of Public Policy, ranked among the top 10 public policy schools in scholarly productivity, takes advantage of its proximity to Washington, D.C. to offer students a rare opportunity to learn about government from a close vantage point.

The school, founded in 1981, provides graduate training in public policy and management. It is distinguished by its focus on domestic as well as international affairs, and its emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to emerging challenges of globalization. The School seeks to facilitate public debate of contemporary policy issues, to advance understanding of those issues through scholarly research and publications, and to enrich government performance through mid-career and executive programs.

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