After a six-month "aggressive" national search for a director, the Hinckley Institute of Politics settled on one of its own.

Monday the University of Utah named Kirk Jowers the fourth director of the U.'s Hinckley Institute of Politics.

"This is an appointment I am very happy with," said U. President Michael Young. "He has an academic focus, real-world experience and institution-building skills to move the Hinckley Institute to the next level."

The Hinckley Institute of Politics is a bipartisan institute aimed at getting students involved in governmental, civic and political processes with the hope of training ethical and visionary students for service in the American politics.

For the past two years Jowers has served as part of a team of interim directors at the institute after Ted Wilson left the post in 2002. At that time the U. was undergoing a change in presidency. So leaders opted to wait until that post was filled before starting the search in order to allow the president to weigh in on the decision.

Jowers is a 1992 U. graduate who majored in political science and served as a Hinckley Institute intern in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1995.

Since 1997 Jowers has practiced law in Washington, D.C., and is a partner at the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale, where he specializes in political law. He has been a frequent lecturer and publisher on campaign finance laws, government ethics and the First Amendment and has appeared as an election-law expert on various local and national radio and television programs.

Ronald Hrebenar, chairman of the search committee, said Jowers brings to the position a wealth of political background, valuable political connections in Washington and a passion for politics that he will communicate to the students.

"It was an aggressive search," said Steve Ott, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science. "But Kirk has a combination of connections, passion and proven ability."

A Skyline High alumnus, Jowers was born and raised in Salt Lake City. He has taught courses on the U.S. presidency and political finance for the past three years at the U. and has been a regular guest lecturer at Brigham Young and other universities.

He will begin his tenure in August.

The Hinckley Institute of Politics was established in 1965 by Robert H. Hinckley, a former mayor and legislator in Utah. To date, it has placed more than 4,000 student interns in Washington, D.C., in the Utah Legislature and in local government and political offices.

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