News & Notes: Princeton did not offer faculty position to Petraeus GS ’87

Princeton is not one of the four universities that have offered former CIA director David Petraeus GS ’87 a position on its faculty, University Spokesperson Martin Mbugua said Tuesday. Last week, The New York Times reported that he had offers from four schools, though it did not name the schools.

“The University has neither offered him a professorship nor contacted him” since his resignation, Mbugua said. Both Elisabeth Donahue, the associate dean for public and external affairs at the Wilson School, where Petraeus studied, and politics department chair Nolan McCarty said their departments had not offered him a position.

Robert Barnett, the Washington superlawyer who is handling media requests for Petraeus, declined to comment on whether Princeton was one of the four schools. According to The Times, Petraeus has also been offered book publishing deals and is interested in serving on the boards of corporations.

In “The Gamble,” a 2009 book about Petraeus and the American troop surge in Iraq, Petraeus said it would be a “thrill” to teach international relations at Princeton.

In September, before his sudden resignation following the news that he had an extramarital affair with his biographer, The Daily Princetonian reported that Petraeus was interested in serving as University president. Petraeus had joked in the past about his interest in the presidency.

Petraeus has had an affinity for Princeton since he earned his doctorate from the Wilson School in 1987. In 2009, Petraeus spoke at Baccalaureate, and he was awarded the University’s top award for a graduate alumnus in 2010.