Alexander Vershbow (SIPA, '76) has been named U.S. ambassador to Russia by President George W. Bush. Currently the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Vershbow will replace James Collins, who has held the Moscow post for nearly four years.

Vershbow, who joined the foreign service in 1977, has also been President Bill Clinton's special assistant for Russian and European Affairs.

As ambassador to NATO, Vershbow has defended the alliance's expansion and has also been one of the architects of U.S. policy in the Balkans, reported THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 4/18/01.