Nye left his job in the Carter administration,which he accepted in 1977, after the then-Dean ofthe Faculty urged him to return to campus.

"Henry Rosovsky came in and exercised his verypersuasive powers, and I came back and neverregretted it," Nye said in a 1990 interview.

Hoffmann, who described Nye as a friend andcolleague, said he hoped Nye would return to theUniversity after two years in the ClintonAdministration, as he did after working underCarter.

"If he leaves just for two years, thedepartment would survive," Hoffman said.

"If he resigned for good we would lose anextraordinary teacher and scholar," he added.

"My impression is that Joe would not want toresign his chair and would come back in twoyears," said Hoffmann. "That is the way he handledhis previous appointment."

Nye said a government job would not immediatelyimpact the department, since he planned to take asabbatical for the next academic year.

"I will be on leave next year anyway so itwon't make a difference in my teaching," Nye said.

Nye is also director of the Center forInternational Affairs. His departure would be ablow to recent efforts at the internationalizationof Harvard, which have been lead by Nye and formerPresident Derek C. Bok