Susan Rice: Education and Career Trajectory
Susan E. Rice has had a distinguished career in public service and academia, marked by significant contributions to U.S. foreign policy and domestic affairs. This article explores her educational background, career highlights, and key roles in government and beyond.
Early Life and Education
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1964, to Lois Dickson Fitt, an education policy researcher, and Emmett J. Rice, a Cornell University economics professor and former governor of the Federal Reserve System, Susan Elizabeth Rice was immersed in an environment that valued intellectual pursuits and public service. Growing up, discussions about politics and foreign policy were common at the dinner table. Her mother's work also brought notable figures into their home, including Madeleine Albright, who later became a pivotal figure in Rice's career.
Rice attended the National Cathedral School, a prep academy in Washington, D.C., where she excelled academically and politically, serving as class valedictorian and student council president. She also demonstrated her athletic abilities, particularly as a star point guard on the basketball team.
After graduating from high school, Rice attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in history with honors in 1986. She distinguished herself by earning Departmental Honors and University Distinction, becoming a Harry S. Truman scholar, being elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and receiving a Rhodes scholarship. Rice also demonstrated her activism by creating a fund that withheld alumni donations until the university divested from companies doing business in South Africa or the country ended apartheid.
Advanced Studies at Oxford
Following her graduation from Stanford, Rice pursued advanced studies at the University of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. She received her Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) degrees in international relations. Her doctoral dissertation examined Rhodesia's transition from white rule and won the Royal Commonwealth Society's Walter Frewen Lord Prize for outstanding research in Commonwealth History. It also received the Chatham House-British International Studies Association Prize for the most distinguished doctoral dissertation in the United Kingdom in the field of International Relations in 1990.
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Early Career
After finishing her schooling in 1990, Rice began her professional career as an international management consultant at McKinsey & Company in Toronto, Ontario. On September 12, 1992, she married Ian Cameron, a television producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Entry into Public Service
In 1993, Rice returned to Washington, D.C., to work at the National Security Council (NSC) in the Clinton administration. She served as the director of international organizations and peacekeeping for the NSC, where she had what she called her "most searing experience" when she visited Rwanda during what was later classified as a genocide. She later became a special assistant to the president and senior director for African affairs in 1995.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
In 1997, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recommended Rice for the position of assistant secretary for African affairs. At the time, she was one of the youngest individuals to hold that position. Despite skepticism from some elder politicians who questioned her ability to deal with older, male leaders, Rice quickly developed a reputation for her direct, plainspoken opinions and her ability to bring people to her side of the table. During her tenure, she became well acquainted with the actions of the extremist group Al Qaeda, as she was the top diplomat for African issues during the 1998 terrorist bombings of embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
Brookings Institution
Rice left the public sector in 2002 to become a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Her work focused on U.S. foreign policy, weak and failing states, the implications of global poverty, and transnational security threats.
Return to Government Service: Obama Administration
In 2008, Rice took leave from Brookings to serve as a senior foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. Following Obama's successful election, she was nominated to be the U.N. ambassador for the United States.
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U.N. Ambassador (2009-2013)
Rice's nomination as U.N. ambassador was confirmed by the Senate, making her the first African American woman to hold the position. Often adopting an interventionist stance, she successfully garnered U.N. approval for sanctions against Iran and North Korea and military action in Libya. However, she also faced criticism following the September 2012 attack on American facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Rice initially attributed the attack to a protest against an offensive internet video, but it was later revealed to be the work of an extremist group.
National Security Advisor (2013-2017)
In June 2013, President Obama named Rice as his national security advisor, succeeding Tom Donilon. In this role, she led the National Security Council Staff and chaired the Cabinet-level National Security Principals Committee. She provided the President with daily national security briefings and coordinated the formulation and implementation of all aspects of the Administration's foreign and national security policy, intelligence, and military efforts. During her tenure, Rice oversaw the coordination of intelligence and military efforts during a period marked by an ongoing battle with ISIS in the Middle East, the continuation of the civil war in Syria, increased aggression from Russia through its annexation of Crimea and involvement in Syria, and the emergence of China as a superpower.
In April 2017, President Donald Trump accused Rice of leaking the identities of Americans caught up in electronic surveillance of foreign officials. Rice vehemently denied these accusations, stating that any actions she took were within the jurisdiction of the national security advisor.
Post-Obama Administration
After leaving the Obama administration, Rice has remained active in various spheres.
Netflix Board
In March 2018, Rice joined the board of directors of Netflix. Reed Hastings, CEO and co-founder of Netflix, stated that Rice's intelligence, integrity, and insight would be beneficial to the company.
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Academic and Other Affiliations
Rice is currently a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at American University’s School of International Service and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She also serves on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Additionally, she is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.
Domestic Policy Advisor (2021-2023)
Most recently, Susan E. Rice served as Domestic Policy Advisor to President Joe Biden from January 2021 to May 2023. She is the only person to have served in the White House as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor.
Personal Life
Rice is married to Ian Cameron, a Canadian-born television producer.
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