SAIS has named Robert Daly as the new American co-director of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies. Daly, based in Nanjing, will be responsible with the Chinese co-director for the management of the center's affairs, as well as the administration of the newly established Hopkins-Nanjing Institute for International Research and summer language program, Nanjing Immersion.

Daly most recently served as director of the U.S.-China Housing Initiative at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and as director of the China Seminar at Syracuse University.

Daly's work in China began when he was posted to Beijing and Taiwan as a foreign service officer from 1986 to 1991. After his overseas tour with the U.S. Information Agency, he taught Chinese at Cornell University and became a consultant on China affairs. His clients have included numerous production companies, including the Children's Television Workshop, for which he helped produce the Chinese versions of Sesame Street and other educational programs. In addition, he has worked with the National Committee on U.S.-China relations, serving as interpreter for China's president, Jiang Zemin; Shanghai's mayor, Xu Kuangdi; and several American leaders.

A native of New York, Daly received his bachelor's degree in literature from Syracuse University in 1984. He lectures frequently on Chinese culture and has appeared as a commentator for CNN, VOA's China branch and Chinese radio and television.