Obama Nominates Furman Professor for Administrative Post

President Barack Obama has tapped a Furman University professor to serve in an administrative post.

Political science professor Brent Nelsen has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Nelsen, who ran in 2010 as a Republican candidate for Superintendent of Education, has served as chairman of the South Carolina Education Television Commission since 2011. He was appointed to the position by Gov. Nikki Haley.

A native of Wisconsin, Nelsen joined the staff of Furman in 1989 and teaches courses on the politics of Europe and the European Union, as well as a course on the politics of the international economic system. He served as chair of the political science department from 2003 to 2009. He has been president of the South Carolina Political Science Association, and is a member of the American Political Science Association.

Nelsen is a graduate of Wheaton College and holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.