| Former presidential speechwriter, ambassador, joins department |
Carolyn Curiel, a former White House speechwriter, U.S. ambassador and most recently a member of The New York Times editorial board, will be joining the department as a clinical professor.
Curiel also has been appointed as a senior adviser in the office of the Purdue president.
A Purdue alumna, Curiel will fill a previously vacant adviser's position in the president's office and will take on additional responsibilities that include overseeing implementation of the university's strategic plan and working with faculty to help develop a new Public Policy Institute. She also will teach special topics courses in the department.
As a member of The Times' editorial board, Curiel authored opinion pieces on a range of national and international topics. As senior speechwriter and special assistant in the White House, she articulated national policy on the economy, education and environment. She served as ambassador to Belize from 1997 to 2001, successfully negotiating several treaties.
"I look forward to joining the team of faculty, staff and students who created an ambitious strategic plan," said Curiel, who graduated from Purdue in 1976 with a degree in radio, television and film. "Universities like Purdue set this nation apart. They are meeting challenges, seizing opportunities and shaping our future."
Curiel also has held a variety of positions with national media, including United Press International, The Washington Post and ABC News. She also was a sports co-editor of the Exponent, the Purdue student newspaper.
Originally from Hammond, Ind., Curiel was awarded an honorary doctorate from Purdue in 2008, named a Purdue Distinguished Alumna by the College of Liberal Arts in 2005 and was a Purdue Old Master in 1999.
She is a member of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism's advisory board at Harvard University and was selected as one of "50 Women Who Made History" by Latina magazine in 1999. |
