Vanderbilt’s political science department will be adding yet another esteemed member to its faculty.

According to Vanderbilt University's News Network, Vin Weber, a former congressman from Minnesota and respected political advisor, will be one of the professors teaching “Elections ‘08”, a unique and highly popular course examining congressional and presidential elections. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Weber was a press secretary to Representative Tom Hagedorn and then a senior aide to Senator Rudy Boschwitz before being elected to the Sixth Congressional District at the age of 28.

Currently Weber serves as chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private nonprofit organization with a goal of strengthening democratic institutions around the world. Additionally, he is on the Board of The Council on Foreign Relations and co-chaired a major independent task force with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Most recently, Weber was the Policy Chairman for Mitt Romney during his 2008 presidential bid. Because of his experience and political insight, he is frequently interviewed by print and broadcast media for stories on national developments.

"The opportunity to have Vin Weber as part of the Vanderbilt community is simply wonderful," said John Geer, Distinguished Professor of Political Science. "Professor Weber will greatly enrich our class, providing Vanderbilt students unique opportunities to learn about political campaigns and governing. This course will be just the start of a long term relationship between the congressman and Vanderbilt."

Read the full story at VUCast here.