Faculty Focus: Chris Kojm

By Julia Parmley

Chris Kojm, professor of the practice of international affairs, teaches his students about the inner workings of public policy. And he should know—he’s been immersed in it for 25 years.

Kojm served as senior adviser to the Iraq Study Group, deputy director of the 9/11 Commission, president of the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, and deputy assistant secretary of state for the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. But despite all of his policy work, Kojm finds his time in the classroom most rewarding.

“I’m here because I really enjoy teaching,” says Kojm. “Students are very inquisitive about my work, and I draw on my own experience and connections to help them learn about public policy. It’s a lot of fun.”

Prior to GW, Kojm was a visiting professor at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he earned a master’s degree in 1979. After 15 years of working in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and five years at the Department of State, in 2003 Kojm accepted a position as deputy director of the 9/11 Commission where he worked with an 80-member staff on the landmark 400-page report detailing the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The commission had a responsibility to tell the story about a huge event in American history in a way that would engage people,” he says. “What made this report so different from any other government document is that it was written for the average reader, for any¬one who cared enough to pick up a copy or download it,” he says. “You can’t move public policy unless you have public support, and if people read and understand what you say, they are more likely to support what you recommend. I’ve never worked harder in my life.”

Kojm also served as senior adviser for the Iraq Study Group in 2006. He worked with former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee H. Hamilton—who also led the 9/11 Commission—on the 120-page report assessing the political, economic, and security conditions in Iraq and their implications for the United States.

“Both the Iraq Study Group report and the 9/11 report were New York Times best¬sellers, because the topics were important and the story connected with people and their daily lives,” says Kojm.

At GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Kojm teaches about U.S. policy and Iraq, Congress and foreign policy, and op-ed writing. He came to GW in 2007 as a professor and head of the University’s U.S. Foreign Policy Summer Institute, a two-week, hands-on program. The institute exposes students to the world of policymaking, utilizing high-profile guest speakers and site visits to the Department of State, the Department of Defense, embassies, think tanks, The Washington Post, and various non-governmental organizations. This summer, more than 40 students attended the institute, some coming from as far away as Singapore, Denmark, and Uganda.

“The purpose of the institute is to give students exposure to the process and content of U.S. policymaking,” says Kojm. “Students learn firsthand how our government works and come to understand why we make the decisions we do. The whole program is built around learning the policy process directly from the people who participate in it every day.”

In 2008, Kojm was named the director of the Elliott School’s Master of Interna¬tional Policy and Practice Program. The program provides a variety of training and academic courses for mid-career professionals who want to advance in their field or change careers.

When he’s not on campus, Kojm spends time in his Washington, D.C., home with his wife, Ann, and three children, Margaret, Hannah, and Matthew. They enjoy traveling as a family and hosted an exchange student from Germany for the past year.

“Wherever I travel, the hospitality of people never fails to impress me, so we felt strongly that we should reciprocate in our own way,” says Kojm.
Above all, Kojm is passionate about sharing his knowledge with his students because of public policy’s tremendous effect on people worldwide.

“Because of the size, power, and impact of the United States, our decisions hugely influence people’s lives here and abroad,” he says. “My students understand that, and they approach public policy with the same intensity and dedication I do.”

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu