The University of Minnesota announced Wednesday that Eric P. Schwartz will be the next dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He will begin as dean October 10.

Schwartz will leave his post as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration. Prior to being appointed to that position by President Barack Obama in the summer of 2009, Schwartz worked for several human rights organizations, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

âÄúOur new dean brings boundless energy, deep national and international experience, and a profound understanding of the needs of the Humphrey School as it continues its remarkable trajectory of progress and impact,âÄù Provost Tom Sullivan said in a statement regarding Schwartz’s .

Schwartz, who also taught periodically at Princeton University from 2001 to 2009, was chosen among a field of three other finalists the school announced in March.  

âÄúI am honored to be appointed dean of the Humphrey School, and deeply grateful for the opportunity to help the school reach even greater levels of excellence,” Schwartz said in the statement. “Highly effective public institutions will be critical to social and economic advancement in the years and decades to come, especially as governance continues to become increasingly complicated and more demanding.

Humphrey School professor Greg Lindsey has served as the interim dean since January, when former Dean J. Brian Atwood left to join a think tank in Paris. Lindsey was one of four candidates vying for the position.