Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) will join Regent University after the Supreme Court tossed out his conviction on corruption charges and prison sentence.
{mosads}McDonnell will join the evangelical university in January as a distinguished professor and will teach in the Robertson School of Government, the university announced. He will help the university create a Governor’s Center for Federalism and Civility, which will help states understand their role in a federal society, according to the university.
“As we train students to serve in government, law and other disciplines, McDonnell will bring his extensive public service experience as an Army officer, prosecutor, state legislator, attorney general and governor,” Regent chancellor and founder Pat Robertson said in a statement.
McDonnell, who earned a law degree and master’s degree in public policy from Regent, located in Virginia Beach, Va., said in a statement he’s often considered going into teaching.
“During my painful journey through the justice system after I left the Governor’s office, I came to the realization that politics and polls are much less important than people and policies,” McDonnell, once a rising star in Republican political circles, said in a statement.
In September 2014, a federal grand jury convicted McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, on 11 counts of fraud for having accepted more than $175,000 in gifts and loans from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., an executive at the dietary supplement company Star Scientific. McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison.