Liz Cheney to Join UVA Center for Politics

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has accepted an appointment to serve as a professor of practice at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

The university said Wednesday that the appointment is effective immediately and will run through the conclusion of the fall 2023 semester, with an option to renew for one or more additional years.

As a professor of practice, Cheney will participate in university-wide lectures and serve as a guest lecturer in student seminars with professor Larry Sabato, the founder and director of the center, which works to promote civic engagement and participation.

In addition, Cheney will be a contributor to the university’s website and participate in university and community events to be announced at a future date.

“I am delighted to be joining the UVA Center for Politics as a professor of practice,” Cheney said in a written statement distributed by the university. 

“Preserving our constitutional republic is the most important work of our time, and our nation’s young people will play a crucial role in this effort,” she continued. “I look forward to working with students and colleagues at the center to advance the important work they and others at the University of Virginia are doing to improve the health of democracy here and around the world.”

Sabato welcomed Cheney with an effusive tweet, calling the announcement of her hire, “one of the best days ever in the 53 years I have been associated with UVA.”

“Our students can’t wait to meet you,” he added.

In a more formal statement, the center director said, “Cheney serves as a model of political courage and leadership.

“Liz will send a compelling message to students about integrity. She’s a true profile in courage, and she was willing to pay the price for her principles — and democracy itself,” Sabato added.

Cheney represented Wyoming’s at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2023, and chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership, from 2019 to 2021.

She also served as vice chair of the Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, a decision that put her at odds with the GOP party leadership in the House and ultimately led to her loss in the 2022 midterm elections.

Cheney served previously at the State Department as the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, and in positions for U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State working in Poland, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine. 

An attorney and specialist in national security and foreign policy, she is the co-author, along with her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, of “Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.”

Cheney graduated from McLean High School in Northern Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College, and received her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. 

In 2022, Cheney, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, received the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s prestigious Profile in Courage Award, with a commendation for her “consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy.”

“The Board of Visitors, which endorsed a statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry in 2021, and the University of Virginia are committed to offering our students an array of diverse viewpoints, and Liz Cheney — a strong conservative who never hesitates to put honesty ahead of all other considerations — is a model of leadership not just for the students at the University of Virginia but for all people concerned for the well-being of this country,” said Whitt Clement, rector of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors.

Though she’ll no doubt be forever associated in the public’s mind with the inquiry into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Cheney said there are many threats facing the United States’ system of government.

“I hope my work with the Center for Politics and the broader community at the University of Virginia will contribute to finding lasting solutions that not only preserve but strengthen our democracy,” she said.

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