An assistant secretary of state will join the Elliott School of International Affairs faculty this summer as the college’s most prestigious visiting professor.

Esther Brimmer, assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, will start July 1 as the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs, the University announced Wednesday.

Since President Barack Obama appointed Brimmer to her current position in 2009, she has sought to advance U.S. interests in international organizations in areas like human rights and food security. Before her appointment she served as the director of research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins University.

Brimmer also represents the U.S. at the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for action against the Assad regime in Syria and against North Korea in Feburary.

The school appoints someone distinguished in the field of international affairs annually for the Shapiro professorship. Former appointees include Abba Eban, a former Israeli foreign minister and Edward Gnehm, an alumnus and former U.S. ambassador to Kuwait whose professorship is now endowed by the Kuwaiti government.