Former Trump and Biden officials named Schlesinger Professors
Esteemed practitioners will conduct seminars and engage with faculty and students
Everett Eissenstat, former deputy director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump, and Chris Lu, former United States ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform under President Joseph Biden, have been appointed as the next James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professors at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
As the Schlesinger Distinguished Professors over the 2025-26 academic year, Eissenstat and Lu will participate in Miller Center conferences and events, engage with faculty and students across the University of Virginia, and contribute to the millercenter.org website and other Miller Center publications.
Eissenstat served as deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs and deputy director of the National Economic Council in President Trump’s first term. He coordinated interagency policy development and implementation on international economic policy matters.
Lu recently completed a term of service as United States representative to the United Nations for management and reform, with the rank of ambassador, under President Biden and also served in key positions in the Obama Administration.
“We are truly fortunate to have these two distinguished public servants join the Miller Center,” said William Antholis, director and CEO of the Miller Center. “Both Everett and Chris bring the same commitment to exploring America’s role in the world and engaging with scholars and other practitioners in developing solutions to pressing challenges. James Schlesinger would be proud.”
Everett Eissenstat
Everett Eissenstat is a partner in the public policy practice group at Squire Patton Boggs and a global trade expert. During a distinguished government career spanning more than two decades, Eissenstat served as deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs and deputy director of the National Economic Council in President Trump’s first term. He coordinated interagency policy development and implementation on international economic policy matters; served as the president’s personal representative and principal negotiator to the G7, G20, and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic summits; and led interagency preparations for all international summits. He previously held key roles in the U.S. House, Senate, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, including twice serving as chief international trade counsel to the chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee (under Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Chuck Grassley). He holds a BS from Oklahoma State University, an MA from the University of Texas at Austin, and a JD from the University of Oklahoma.
Chris Lu
Chris Lu served under President Biden as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform, during a period when the UN confronted major challenges, including Ukraine, Gaza, and global AI policy. Lu is returning to the Miller Center, where he was one of the Center’s inaugural practitioner senior fellows from 2017 to 2021. Lu previously spent seven years in the Obama administration. From 2014–17, he was deputy secretary of labor, having been confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. From 2009–13, Lu was White House cabinet secretary and assistant to the president, serving as the president’s primary liaison to the federal agencies. He was executive director of President-elect Obama’s transition in 2008-2009. He previously served as legislative director for then-Senator Obama and deputy chief counsel of the House Oversight Committee. Lu is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
About the Schlesinger Distinguished Professorship
The University of Virginia established the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professorship at the Miller Center in 2007 to bring public servants of great distinction to the University. Schlesinger served as secretary of defense and secretary of energy, in addition to holding leadership roles with the Central Intelligence Agency, Atomic Energy Commission, and numerous other government bodies during a distinguished career in public service. He was previously a professor of economics at the University of Virginia and he helped establish this distinguished professorship to bring senior public servants who have experience with foreign policy and national security to participate as visiting faculty in programs at the Miller Center and engage with students at the University.
Past Schlesinger Distinguished Professors include Ryan C. Crocker, Eric S. Edelman, Evan Feigenbaum, Michael B. G. Froman, Stephen J. Morrison, John D. Negroponte, Thomas R. Pickering, Joseph W. Prueher, Anne Richard, Charles Richard, and Mara Rudman.