Ambassador Richard Verma joins the faculty of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service this fall as the Dean’s Distinguished Ambassadorial Fellow. Verma has a distinguished background as a public servant, most recently serving as U.S. deputy secretary of state for management and resources from 2023 to 2025. He also previously served as the U.S. ambassador to India, where he led one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missions and championed historic progress in bilateral ties. Verma is currently the Chief Administrative Officer for Mastercard, overseeing the company’s law, government affairs and policy, franchise, corporate security and community and belonging functions. He was previously the company’s Chief Legal Officer and Head of Global Public Policy.
“I’m excited to welcome Ambassador Verma to this new position at SFS. His deep experience and expertise in diplomacy, government service and corporate leadership will directly and immediately benefit SFS students,” Dean Joel Hellman says.
At SFS, Verma will engage in scholarship, student mentoring, public events and teaching and will be located within SFS’s Asian Studies program. This semester, he will teach a graduate seminar focused on careers and current issues in international affairs, and in spring 2027, an undergraduate course on U.S.-India relations.
Verma is the current Chair of the Board of Advisors of the school’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, and he previously served as a Centennial Fellow at the SFS in 2017-2018. He was formerly the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs and National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader. He is also a former member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board, and the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Commission. He currently serves on the board of the Ford Foundation and the T. Rowe Price corporate board.
Verma is a U.S. Air Force veteran and the recipient of numerous military awards and civilian decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship. He holds a doctorate in international relations from Georgetown University, a law degree (cum laude) from American University, a master of laws with distinction in international law from Georgetown University Law Center, and a bachelor of science from Lehigh University.