Mr. Sullivan Goes to Washington

Current

UNH Carsey School fellow named to Biden administration

Jake Sullivan has returned to Washington. A senior fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy, Sullivan was named President Joe Biden’s national security advisor in November. He’s the youngest person to hold the post in almost 60 years.

It is a position for which Sullivan is eminently qualified. He previously served in former President Barack Obama’s administration as deputy assistant to the president, helped to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal and was national security advisor to then Vice President Biden. He was deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a senior policy advisor during her run for president in 2016.

David Vogt

“Jake Sullivan has been a terrific asset to the Carsey School — an exceptional teacher who has brought his hands-on experience at the highest levels of our national government into the classroom, as well as to the Carsey School more generally in his role as a senior fellow,” says Michael Ettlinger, director of the Carsey School. “We look forward to keeping in touch as he takes on this incredibly important role for our country at a very difficult time.”

Sullivan also served as a senior policy advisor and chief counsel to Sen. Amy Klobuchar. A graduate of Yale Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

“Teaching in the Carsey School was a pleasure — the students are so sharp and engaged,” the Minnesota native says. “I’ll miss that as I move into government service, but I plan to keep in touch and hope that down the road I’ll be able to again be part of the university.”

A Rhodes Scholar, Sullivan also serves on the advisory board of the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership & Public Service at the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.

— Jody Record ’95

American Politics Wide Open

When Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021, she also was sworn into a unique spot in the history books. “It’s striking to see a woman of color be the first to break through this particular glass ceiling,” says Ellen Fitzpatrick, author of “The Highest Glass Ceiling: Women’s Quest for the American Presidency” and UNH professor of history. “As Shirley Chisholm long ago pointed out in her race for the presidency, women had worked so hard for the Democratic Party for so long but were rarely advanced as national candidates. It’s a historic moment that accents the ways in which American political life has widened even as we witness the constraints so many continue to face.”

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