Jim Marshall

Congressman Jim Marshall (2003–2011) is a former law professor, member of the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame, and former mayor of Macon, Georgia. In Congress, Jim earned a reputation as a moderate Democrat with strong ties to both sides of the aisle. He now serves on the board of the National Futures Association. Jim taught at Princeton University during 2011 and, until he accepted the USIP presidency, was scheduled to teach at Georgetown University this fall.

Jim served four terms in Congress, from 2003 to 2011, where he built and maintained strong bipartisan relationships. He served on the Armed Services, Agriculture, and Financial Services Committees. He also chaired the Air Force Caucus, the Financial Markets Caucus, and the Balanced Budget Caucus, as well as West Point’s Board of Visitors. As mayor of Macon, Jim managed 17 departments, two airports, and 1,300-plus employees from 1995 to 1999. During that time, he was elected to the Advisory Board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and co-chaired the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.

After the Tet Offensive in 1968, Jim withdrew from Princeton University to volunteer for infantry combat in Vietnam, where he served as an Airborne Ranger reconnaissance platoon sergeant. He has received numerous military awards and recognitions, including the Purple Heart and induction into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

After his tour in Vietnam, Jim returned to Princeton, where he was a University Scholar and graduated in 1972. He then taught high school and founded a successful logging business before attending law school at Boston University. After law school, Jim moved to Macon, where he clerked for two federal judges and then became a law professor at Mercer University. For the next 16 years, in addition to numerous civic roles, Jim taught, wrote about, and actively practiced business law, representing companies and individuals in commercial, insolvency, property, and financial matters.

Jim is a voracious reader, outdoorsman and piddler who is active in many sports. His wife, Camille Hope, is an attorney and bankruptcy trustee. His daughter, Mary, graduated from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School in 2010 and is now Teaching for America in the South Bronx. His son, Robert, is a senior at Princeton.