Graduates from the Elliott School of International Affairs will hear from a Middle East policy professor and leading diplomat at their May 18 commencement ceremony, the school announced this week.

Edward “Skip” Gnehm, Jr. who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from GW in the 1960s, last served as the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan in 2004.

Gnehm, 67, joined the Elliott School faculty in 2004, and was tapped as a chaired professor in 2005 after a $3.3-million gift from the Kuwait Foundation. He has also served on the University’s Board of Trustees and is the director for the Middle East Policy Forum, an event series that brings scholars, journalists and policy makers to campus.

“Ambassador Gnehm is a highly regarded member of our faculty, specifically among our students,” Elliott School spokesman Nick Massella said.

He has also served as an ambassador to Kuwait and Australia, and last worked as an administrator at the State Department in 2000.

Gnehm was not immediately available to comment.

Last year, Lori Beth Garver, a deputy administrator of NASA, spoke at the commencement ceremony.