Former U.S. Ambassador David Greenlee is coming to Troy in February to serve as Troy University’s Ambassador-in-Residence.

The Department of Political Science and the College of Art and Science have jointly sponsored the Ambassador-in-Residence program for seven years. The program has brought to Troy several ambassadors who had been across the world.

“Greenlee will be the first visiting ambassador to have served in Latin America,” said Jonathan Harrington. “We are eager to hear more about the U.S.-Latin America relationship from him.”

According to Harrington, the program is an excellent opportunity for students interested in working for the State Department and other international careers to learn more about the field.

“Troy is an international university and we always encourage international education among students faculty and community members,” he said.

Greenlee will be in Troy from Feb. 2 to Feb. 6. His public address entitled “The United States and Latin America – A Broad Look at the Neighborhood” will be at 4 p.m. on Feb. 5 in McCall Hall room 114. The event is free and open to the public.

“We welcome people in the community to come and enjoy his talk, to get insight into international affairs,” Harrington said.

During his time at the university, Greenlee will visit with students in various classes, as well as the command and students at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, according to Troy University Relations.

A Yale University graduate, Greenlee served as ambassador to Bolivia from 2003-2006, and was an ambassador to Paraguay from 2000-2003. He is also recognized for his work as a chair and U.S. Delegate to the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, a successful five-nation effort to mitigate civilian casualties in cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

In addition to his ambassador positions, Greenlee served as deputy chief of mission in Bolivia, Chile, and Spain, as well as special coordinator and political advisor to the U.S. Army chief of staff in Haiti.

Greenlee has also volunteered with the Peace Corps in Bolivia, served as an Army officer in Vietnam, and graduated from the National War College. He is a member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs and is on the boards of the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the American Foreign Service Association.

Since his retirement in 2007, he has been working as an independent consultant and annuitant with the State Department on institutional issues related to the U.S. Africa Command and the reorganization of the U.S. Southern Command.