Experts

William J. Antholis

Fast Facts

  • Former managing director at The Brookings Institution
  • Director of international economic affairs for the National Security Council in the Clinton Administration
  • Expertise on climate change, India, China, international economics, development, U.S. foreign policy

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • Asia
  • Domestic Affairs
  • Energy and the Environment
  • Science and Technology
  • Economic Issues
  • Trade
  • Elections
  • Politics
  • The Presidency

William J. Antholis has served as director and CEO of UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs since January 2015. In that time, the Miller Center has strengthened its position as the leading nonpartisan research institution on the American presidency and worked with scholars across the University of Virginia to deliver vital research to policymakers and the public.

Miller Center initiatives have included the First Year Project 2017, the 2019 Presidential Ideas Festival, the completion and release of the George W. Bush Oral History project, the launch of the Barack Obama Oral History project, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Oral History project, the co-production of the PBS documentary Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team, the creation of The LBJ Telephone Tapes exhibit with the LBJ Library, and the COVID Commission Planning Group. The Miller Center has supported the work of the College of Arts and Sciences Democracy Initiative and partnered with the Karsh Institute of Democracy in developing and delivering Election 2020 and Its Aftermath, the UVA Democracy Biennial, and the Democracy Dialogues. Antholis also co-chaired the Presidential Inaugural Committee for President Jim Ryan’s installation in October 2018.

Before coming to the Miller Center, Antholis served as managing director at The Brookings Institution from 2004 to 2014. In that capacity, he worked directly with Brookings' president and vice presidents to help manage the full range of policy studies, develop new initiatives, coordinate research across programs while ensuring quality and independence, and strengthen the policy impact of Brookings’ work. Antholis is the author of Inside Out India and China: Local Politics Go Global (2013) and co-author (with Strobe Talbott) of Fast Forward: Ethics and Politics in the Age of Global Warming (2010). He has published articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces on U.S. politics, U.S. foreign policy, international organizations, the G8, climate change, and trade. From 1995 to 1999, Antholis served on the White House National Security Council and National Economic Council as well as at the State Department. From 1999-2004, he was director of studies and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a visiting scholar at Princeton University. 

Antholis is an Archon of the Greek Orthodox Church and serves on the board of trustees of the American College of Greece and Titan Cement International.

Antholis earned his PhD from Yale University in politics (1993) and his BA degree with honors from the University of Virginia in government and foreign affairs (1986).

 

William J. Antholis News Feed

2024 will see billions of people head to the polls, including in the US, and many have asked if global democracy is on the ballot. William Antholis, the director and CEO of UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, joins Thanos Davelis to look at these upcoming elections, with a focus on the US, and break down what’s at stake for the US and democracies around the world, including Greece.
William Antholis Ekathimerini
The Miller Center commemorates the 2nd anniversary of the Russian war in Ukraine in a special two-panel program with UVA experts in foreign policy, defense, and diplomacy.
Allan Stam, Dale Copeland, Eric Edelman, Harry Harding, John Owen, Mara Rudman, Marc Selverstone, Philip Potter, Scott Miller, Stephen Mull, Syaru Shirley Lin, and William Antholis Miller Center Presents
Critical to the success of any presidency—and to democracy in the United States—is designing and operating an effective White House. Christopher Liddell, former White House deputy chief of staff under President Donald Trump, offers a strategic approach to building a strong and successful presidency in his new book, Year Zero: The Five-Year Presidency. Liddell demonstrates that action must be taken early, comprehensively, and visibly, starting in what he calls "Year Zero," the year before governing. His book lays out concrete nonpartisan steps and recommendations to improve how the White House functions and rebuild trust in one of our most fundamental institutions.
William Antholis Miller Center Presents
To get a better perspective on the Ukraine war, UVA Today sat down with William Antholis, director and CEO of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs and chair of a weekly, off-the-record “Ukraine War Room” video conference.
William Antholis UVA Today
In conversation with Miller Center for Public Affairs Director and CEO Bill Antholis, Chuck Hagel said the U.S. had become “consumed with terrorism” in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and “took our eye off the ball” when it came to key geopolitical interests.
William Antholis The Darden Report
Addressing motivations for these events, William Antholis, director and CEO of the Miller Center of Public Affairs and Class of 1986 alumnus, said that he wanted the University to remain a forum for free speech and diverse ideas, even in the wake of the recent conflict. “My hope is that U.Va. will remain what it has been since I was an undergraduate — a place where people do the courageous work of sharing ideas across philosophies, research disciplines and schools,” Antholis said.
William Antholis Cavalier Daily