President Donald Trump has appointed UT faculty member Richard Burkhauser to be a member of the administration’s Council of Economic Advisers.

The White House news release announcing the position referred to Burkhauser’s new role as a “key appointment.” Burkhauser is currently an adjunct professor within the economics department and is a senior research fellow in the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

“I was very much looking forward to teaching my undergraduate course in the Economics of Social Security,” Burkhauser said in an email. “I would gladly be doing so right now, if I had not been invited to come to Washington to be a member of the CEA … Hopefully (in the future), I will have a chance to teach that class I had to cancel this fall.”

Burkhauser came to UT in March 2016 after being invited to be a senior research fellow in the LBJ School.

“There are some terrific scholars with a keen interest in public policy both at the LBJ School and in the Economics Department,” Burkhauser said. “It has been an intellectual treat to interact with them over the past year and a half.”

Burkhauser also said he’s already feeling nostalgic about leaving Austin. He and his wife bought season tickets this year for the women’s volleyball team but gave them to their daughter when they left for Washington.

Burkhauser is also a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research and also holds positions at the University of Melbourne and Cornell University.

“Burkhauser’s professional career has focused on how public policies affect the economic behavior and well-being of vulnerable populations,” the release said.