Drew Forum event and classroom visit highlight the professorship
February 2026 – Drew University has announced Ambassador Rahm Emanuel as the 2025-26 Thomas H. Kean Visiting Professor.
As part of the professorship, Emanuel will make a campus classroom visit and take part in a Drew Forum event on Tuesday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown. Tickets for the Drew Forum event will be on sale Friday.
“It is an honor to have Ambassador Rahm Emanuel join Drew as the Thomas H. Kean Visiting Professor, and to have him both spend time in the classroom with students and share his insights in a public forum,” said Drew University President Hilary L. Link, PhD, who will moderate Emanuel’s Drew Forum event.
“Bringing to campus a figure with Emanuel’s renown, experience, and insights offers a huge benefit to Drew students, faculty, and alumni, as well as the local community.”
In his career, Emanuel has held a number of high-profile political roles at the global, federal, state, and city levels.
From 2022-25, Emanuel served as the 31st U.S. Ambassador to Japan in the Biden administration after being confirmed in a bipartisan vote in December 2021.
Prior to his ambassadorship, Emanuel was the 55th Mayor of Chicago, serving two terms from 2011-19. In his eight years as mayor, he made critical choices necessary to secure the city’s future as a global capital.
Emanuel had previously served for two years as President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff, serving as the president’s top advisor and helping the administration secure the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Before joining the Obama administration, Emanuel was elected four times to the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois’ 5th Congressional District (2002-08), while also serving as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
From 1993-98, Emanuel was a key member of President Bill Clinton’s administration, rising to the role of Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Politics. In this role, Emanuel served as a legislative liaison to Congress and spearheaded efforts to pass several of the administration’s signature achievements.
