Former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer has recently been appointed as a visiting professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies.
Gusenbauer served as the Chancellor of Austria from January 2007 to this past December. His relatively brief tenure as Chancellor - the second shortest in Austrian history - was preceded by an eight-year stint as chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, a political party with firm socialist roots.
Interim Director of the Watson Institute and Vice President for International Affairs David Kennedy '76 said President Ruth Simmons has been instrumental in orchestrating Gusenbauer's appointment.
"It's a question of seizing opportunities," Kennedy said, adding that Simmons has long been invested in bringing influential leaders and thinkers to campus.
As far as Gusenbauer's day-to-day presence on campus, Kennedy said he expects that Gusenbauer will "spend some time on campus." While at Brown, Kennedy said, Gusenbauer will take part in conferences and workshops held by the Watson Institute, participate in ongoing classes and conduct research.
"We expect him to contribute in a variety of ways," Kennedy said, adding that even though Gusenbauer will only spend several weeks per semester on campus, the hope is that as many students as possible will be able to meet and learn from Gusenbauer during his time at Brown.
"It's long been part of our philosophy that we find out the most about pressing international issues by bringing practitioners and academics together in conversation," Kennedy said. "Through that dialogue we think the answers to the most pressing problems will emerge."
Gusenbauer, 48, was active in the socialist youth movement in his earlier years earned his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1987, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia. After assuming leadership of the Social Democratic Party in 2000, he led them to a plurality of Parliament seats in 2006 and became chancellor a year later.
The Watson Institute hosts various politicians, leaders and diplomats, including former president of Chile Ricardo Lagos, former United States Senator Lincoln Chafee '75 and former United States ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke '62.
Gusenbauer will serve as a visiting professor beginning this month and through December 2009.
