President Barack Obama swore in Mara Rudman '84 as assistant administrator for the Middle East with the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, Rudman said in an interview with The Dartmouth. In her new role, Rudman will oversee development, diplomacy and defense efforts in order to promote stability in the region and protect the interests of the United States, she said.
Obama initially nominated Rudman for the position in February. Rudman appeared before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April and the committee approved her nomination in May, she said.
"The process for this was a little longer than average for me," she said.
Rudman has previously served as deputy assistant to Obama and executive secretary to the National Security Council, according to a College press release. She was deputy national security advisor and National Security Council chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, and was chief counsel to the House Foreign Affairs Committee under former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind.
Although Rudman previously concentrated on "Palestinian institution building" and ensuring compliance with international peace agreements, she will now focus on broader development and foreign assistance goals, she said.
Rudman acknowledged that her recent appointment will bring "any number of challenges" given the current political instability in the Middle East.
"I do honestly believe that there is no more challenging time to take this job I think that is truly an opportunity," she said. "It also means that you must accept such a position with humility because you need to realize what you're taking on at a time like this and know how much help you're going to need."
Rudman, a government major who graduated summa cum laude from the College, went on to receive her JD from Harvard Law School. She called her time at Dartmouth a "critical foundation" for her career.
"[Dartmouth] really opened up my world," she said. "I learned that it was important to recognize that there were many types of people in the world and that it was important to respect them and learn from them."
Rudman emphasized the important role her undergraduate professors played in her experience at the College.
"I feel fortunate that a number of professors particularly in the government department took time to answer questions for me both in class and out of class, sometimes on subject matter and often times not," she said. "They took the time to listen and be thoughtful and frankly to care about students like me and give me guidance."
Rudman returned to the College this summer to teach a course as part of the "Leading Voices in Politics and Public Policy" lecture series, which was sponsored by the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy.
During her Aug. 16 classroom visit, Rudman shared her experiences as an undergraduate at the College and emphasized that students should "look for mentors," a College press release said.
