Miller Center of Public Affairs Director Philip D. Zelikow was appointed counselor of the U.S. Department of State in an announcement made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday.
"I think he was as surprised as anyone when Secretary Rice invited him to take this appointment," said George H. Gilliam, director of special programs at the Miller Center. "He's dedicated to the University of Virginia and the Miller Center, but he's also a very strong patriot, and it's hard to say no in this time of war."
The position of counselor has existed since the early 1900s but has not been filled since the Clinton Administration.
"Secretary Rice wanted to have somebody in there to handle special assignments," Gilliam said.
Zelikow will report directly to Secretary Rice and the deputy secretary of state, traveling to different parts of the globe to assess situations and provide information to countries. He has already been sent to Iraq to evaluate the conditions, Gilliam said.
Zelikow has resigned from his position as Miller Center director. He will apply for a leave of absence from the University history department, where he is a professor of diplomatic politics, University President John T. Casteen, III said.
The University currently is preparing to find a replacement director, Casteen said. An interim director should be announced around the time of the next Board of Visitors meeting.
"We have already begun paperwork preparatory to the search for a new permanent director," Casteen said.
In the meantime, the Miller Center's five program managers who are responsible for the day-to-day program administration will run the Miller Center. Gilliam said the five program managers managed the Miller Center in the same capacity when Zelikow was on leave working on the 9/11 Commission.
Zelikow's contributions to the 9/11 Commission brought him to the national forefront. He also released a book with Condoleezza Rice in 1995.
"Philip and I have worked together for years and I value his counsel and expertise," Rice said in a statement, as reported in The Daily Progress. "I appreciate his willingness to take on this assignment."
At the University, Zelikow is responsible for upgrading the Miller Center's public programs and publications, Casteen said.
His major projects with the Miller Center have been to improve the forum program and the presidential history program. He pioneered the presidential recording project and the americanpresident.org program.
Zelikow "turned it into a center with four major national programs," Gilliam said. "He took it to the next level."
Zelikow's professorship will be missed, Gilliam said.
"The classes that he has taught have been immensely popular classes," he said.
Zelikow's acceptance of his appointment is in sync with the larger goals of the University, Casteen said.
"Service of this kind is an element of the third component of the University's mission -- public service," he said.
Gilliam said his appointment is a positive reflection on the University as a whole.
"It is a tremendously high honor when someone from the University gets selected for a position as high and important and powerful as this one will be," he said. "It brings credit to this University to have faculty that are this highly regarded not only nationally but around the world."
Zelikow could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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