Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia announces the creation of the Senator Saxby Chambliss Leadership Forum. This initiative will increase students’ exposure to domestic and international politics and will provide Chambliss a forum through which to share his insights and expertise on topics ranging from national security to foreign policy.
“Saxby Chambliss has been a dear friend to the University of Georgia and committed to its success since he graduated,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “This new initiative reflects his greatest qualities as a loyal alumnus and dedicated public servant, and it will have a tremendous impact on the students and faculty of this great institution.”
The Chambliss Leadership Forum comprises three parts. First, Chambliss will serve as the UGA School of Law’s Sanders Political Leadership Scholar. In this capacity, he will co-teach a law and political leadership course with Georgia Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Camila Knowles. He joins a long list of distinguished Sanders Scholars including former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Poland Lee A. Feinstein, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler Jr.
Second, Chambliss will hold a lecture series for undergraduate students on critical areas of public policy facing the nation. He will share his firsthand knowledge of the impacts of public policy on U.S. global leadership and national security, among other topics.
The final component of the Chambliss Leadership Forum is the establishment of the Chambliss Fellows Program. Each semester, five students selected through a competitive application process will participate in the Washington Semester Program as Chambliss Fellows and intern in Washington, D.C., in various positions. The Fellows will receive a stipend to help cover the costs of living and working in the nation’s capital.
The Chambliss Fellows Program will be funded through an endowed scholarship that is supported by an annual fundraising dinner. This year’s dinner will be held Nov. 10 in Atlanta.
“This partnership with the University of Georgia gives me the opportunity to dialogue with the next generation of leaders on issues that I have been involved in for the last 20 years,” Chambliss said. “We Georgians are fortunate to have a world-class university as our flagship, and I am indeed privileged to have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding faculty and the very bright students at UGA.”
Chambliss was first elected to Congress in 1994 as a representative of Georgia’s 8th District. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, where he served until his retirement in 2014. He has been recognized for his work on agriculture, defense, budget and national security issues throughout his legislative career. He served as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence for four years and chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry for two years.
Chambliss received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from UGA in 1966 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee in 1968.