Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), who is retiring from Congress next month, will become the next chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). As noted in an AAAS announcement, he will replace Alan I. Leshner, who announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down as CEO. Holt will assume his new role at the AAAS annual meeting in February.
In Congress, Holt has been a leading advocate for STEM education, science policy, and the federal investment in research. Prior to being elected to Congress in 1998, he served as assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and earlier had been a professor at Swarthmore College. Holt has a Ph.D. in physics from New York University.
“Representative Holt has long been a vigorous and trusted ally to the scientific community in Congress,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “We look forward to working with him in his new role as the leader of one of the nation’s most prestigious scientific organizations.”