Terry McAuliffe

Distinguished Visiting Professor Terry McAuliffe brings a lifetime of progressive political experience and successful economic development to the Schar School of Policy and Government classrooms.

As the 72nd Governor of Virginia (2014-2018), McAuliffe (D) made a record 35 trade missions around the world, creating thousands of jobs and bringing in more than $20 billion in capital investment in the Commonwealth. The unemployment rate dropped from 5.4 percent to 3.6 percent, unemployment claims dropped to a 44-year low and personal income rose 12.3 percent.

While McAuliffe improved Virginia’s competitiveness in the global economy, he also focused on enhancing the quality of life for the Commonwealth’s citizens, assuring that economic opportunity in the diversified economy was a right, not a privilege. McAuliffe protected women’s access to health care, bolstered the public school system, protected the environment, restored voting rights to 173,000 rehabilitated felons, secured bipartisan support for legislation to reduce gun violence and used his executive powers to secure consumer cyber transactions.

McAuliffe entered national politics at age 23 as National Finance Director for President Jimmy Carter. He co-chaired President Bill Clinton’s 1996 campaign for reelection and Clinton’s 1997 Presidential Inauguration. In 2000, he was chairman of the Democratic National Convention and from 2000 to 2005, he was the Democratic National Committee Chairman. He was also Chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign.