James Steinberg is Dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs, and Law. Prior to becoming Dean on July 1, 2011, he was Deputy Secretary of State, serving as the principal deputy to Secretary Clinton. From 2005-2008, Steinberg was Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs; previously he was vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he supervised a wide-ranging research program on U.S. foreign policy. Steinberg served as deputy national security advisor to President Clinton from 1996 to 2000. During that period he also served as the president's personal representative to the 1998 and 1999 G-8 Summits.

Prior to becoming deputy national security advisor, Steinberg served as director of the State Department's policy planning staff and as deputy assistant secretary for analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Previously, he Steinberg was Senator Edward Kennedy's principal aide for the Senate Armed Services Committee and minority counsel, U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.

Steinberg's most recent book is Difficult Transitions: Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Presidential Power (2008) with Kurt Campbell. Steinberg received a B.A. from Harvard and a J.D. from Yale Law School. His wife, Sherburne Abbott, is vice president for sustainability initiatives and University Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at Syracuse University.