President Ruth Simmons and former Brown President Vartan Gregorian have been appointed to President's Commission on White House Fellowships, the White House announced last month. They are among 28 members President Barack Obama selected for the commission, which recommends candidates for the White House Fellows program.
Fellows in the program — which emphasizes leadership and public service — work for top-level government officials.
"I found the selection process inspiring," Simmons wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "It demonstrated that when experienced, creative, and innovative individuals have an opportunity to explore the workings of government at the highest levels, their positive experience can lead them to make a significant mark in their chosen professions and in public service."
In a press release, Obama called the members of the commission "diverse, non-partisan and committed to mentoring our next generation of public servants."
Other commission members include former Sen. Tom Daschle, Gen. Wesley Clark, news anchor Tom Brokaw and Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.
According to the press release, the commission will select between 11 and 19 fellows from a pool of 30 finalists. Over a thousand applications were received for the 2009-2010 class.
Prominent alumni of the White House Fellows program include Gen. Colin Powell, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta.
Gregorian was president of Brown from 1989 to 1997, and currently serves as the president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
—Kelly Mallahan
