Robert Daly Appointed to Head Wilson Center Kissinger Institute on China and the United States

Amb. Stapleton Roy to Become Distinguished Scholar of U.S.-China Relations

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Wilson Center today announced that Robert Daly will be the Center's new Director for the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, beginning today.

"Robert is an exceptional choice to lead our Kissinger Institute and programming on China," said Jane Harman, president, director, and CEO of the Wilson Center. "He recently joined me on a trip to China and impressed me with his knowledge of political and academic leaders, business and cultural issues, and command of the language. His idea to conduct some Kissinger Institute events in China and the U.S. totally in Chinese won plaudits everywhere. He will build on the exceptional record of Ambassador Stapleton Roy, who has ably directed our Kissinger Institute since its founding in 2008 and will remain as a senior advisor."

Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy, Founding Director of the Kissinger Institute, will continue to play a vital role in the Wilson Center's China-related programming as a distinguished scholar on U.S.-China relations and senior advisor to the Kissinger Institute.  The Wilson Center is committed to building a trusted space for dialogue, understanding, and new ideas on U.S.-China relations, with further investments to be announced. 

Before coming to the Wilson Center, Daly was director of the Maryland China Initiative at the University of Maryland, a position he held since 2007. From 2001 to 2007 he was American Director of the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, in Nanjing, China. He began work in U.S.-China relations as a diplomat with the United States Information Agency from 1989 to 1991, after which he taught Chinese at Cornell.

From 1992 to 1999 he worked on television projects in China as a host, actor, and writer, and helped to produce Chinese-language versions of Sesame Street and other Children's Television Workshop programs. During that same period he directed the Syracuse University China seminar and served as a commentator on U.S.-China relations and Chinese affairs for several U.S. and Chinese media outlets. In 2000 and 2001 he served as American Director of the U.S.-China Housing Initiative.  He is a regular commentator on current affairs for the Chinese service of the Voice of America.

Ambassador Stapleton Roy joined the Wilson Center as Founding Director of the Kissinger Institute in 2008.  His decades of accomplishments span public service, academia, and the private sector.  He retired from the Foreign Service in January 2001 after a career spanning 45 years with the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Roy served as U.S. Ambassador in Singapore (1984-86), the People's Republic of China (1991-95), and Indonesia (1996-99). In 1996, he was promoted to the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the Foreign Service. Ambassador Roy's final post with the State Department was as Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research.

Notes to editors:

Contact: Drew Sample
Phone: (202) 691-4379
drew.sample@wilsoncenter.org

SOURCE Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars