(Headline USA) Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., will join the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics as a professor of practice, the school announced Wednesday.
The Trump critic was recently ousted by voters during the 2022 midterms, but will now teach students on “finding lasting solutions that not only preserve, but strengthen our democracy,” according to the press release from CFP Communications Director Kyle Kondik.
“Preserving our constitutional republic is the most important work of our time, and our nation’s young people will play a crucial role in this effort,” Cheney said in a statement. “I look forward to working with students and colleagues at the center to advance the important work they and others at the University of Virginia are doing to improve the health of democracy here and around the world.”
Whitt Clement, a rector of the university’s Board of Visitors who was first appointed by former Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2015, called Cheney a “model of leadership.”
“Liz Cheney, a strong conservative who never hesitates to put honesty ahead of all other considerations, is a model of leadership not just for the students at the University of Virginia, but for all people concerned for the well-being of this country,” he said.
U.Va. President Jim Ryan also praised Cheney for “fiercely [defending] democracy as part of a distinguished career.”
Tim Heaphy, the school’s former general counsel and a close associate of Ryan’s, also served as the lead investigator for the House Jan. 6 committee—on which Cheney was one of only two non-Democrats.
Heaphy ultimately was dismissed from his U.Va. job in 2021 by newly elected Republican state Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Kondik told Headline USA that the center formed ties with Cheney during a Jan. 6 anniversary event that it hosted in 2022.
U.Va. Prof. Larry Sabato, a well known political pundit and prognosticator, founded the Center for Politics and continues to be its director, although he no longer oversees its day-to-day operations.
The new gig comes as Cheney is reportedly weighing a 2024 presidential bid. Last September, she hinted that she would be willing to challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he is not the nominee,” she said at the time. “And if he is the nominee, I won’t be a Republican.”
Cheney also reportedly plans to launch a new anti-Trump organization.
“In coming weeks, Liz will be launching an organization to educate the American people about the ongoing threat to our Republic, and to mobilize a unified effort to oppose any Donald Trump campaign for president,” Cheney spokesperson Jeremy Adler said.
