On Friday, President-elect Joe Biden nominated Denis McDonough, a professor of the practice of public policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs, to the position of secretary of veterans affairs, permitting Senate approval.
McDonough has been a Notre Dame faculty member since 2017, teaching courses on public policy analysis and formulation as well as writing for policy, government and nongovernmental organization management and leadership.
Recently, he has contributed expertise to the Keough School’s Global Policy Initiative and has worked on the Presidential Transition Index, which studies weaknesses of the current presidential transition process. He will remain on the Notre Dame faculty on academic leave.
Before joining the Notre Dame faculty, McDonough served as the White House chief of staff in the Obama administration from February 2013 to January 2017.
University President Fr. John Jenkins congratulated McDonough on the nomination and recognized him for his work at Notre Dame in a press release.
“Denis is a dedicated public servant who, over the past three years, has been a valued member of our Keough School faculty, sharing his considerable expertise in public policy, international and domestic affairs and management with both graduate and undergraduate students,” Jenkins said. “I join his campus colleagues in extending congratulations on his nomination and wish him well in the confirmation process.”
