Following the announcement that former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) would leave her post as director of Harvard's Institute of Politics to pursue a Senate bid in 2008, former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach (R) has been appointed to take her place.

Leach, a member of Congress for 30 years who chaired the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, was swept out of office in the 2006 Democratic wave. Known for his professorial image and liberal use of sweater vests, Leach was scooped up by his alma mater, Princeton University, after he left Congress.