Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez was announced on Thursday as Brown University's newest faculty member, despite his promise earlier this year that the party chairman post had to be treated as a "full-time job."
Perez, who was elected chairman in February, pressured his major rival in the race, Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), to promise that he would resign from Congress if he was elected to the post. The argument, at the time, was that the Democratic Party was in need of a "dramatic overhaul" after its crushing 2016 defeats, and a potential chairman would need to put his full attention towards the job.
Six months later, with the party's problems far from fixed, Perez has announced that he will taking on responsibilities in Rhode Island at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
Perez was given a one-year senior fellow appointment, during which he will lead a course titled "Governance and Leadership in Challenging Times" focused on "effective problem solving for individuals of all political stripes," according to the university's announcement.
The announcement adds that several public events featuring Perez have been scheduled and that he will also hold office hours and informal lunches with students.
A university spokesperson said Brown was unable to estimate how many hours Perez would be expected to put towards the school each week. It is also unclear how much Perez will be paid.