Newman served as interim Dean of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire from 1998 to 1999.[1] She served as the executive dean at Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University from 2000 to 2005.[1] Newman then served as interim president of UNH from 2006 through 2007.[1][4] She was a Senior Fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.[9]
On February 3, 2009, PresidentBarack Obama announced that he would nominate Gregg, then a Republican Senator representing New Hampshire, as the Secretary of Commerce.[11] Later in the day, Lynch announced that he would appoint Newman to the Senate to fill Gregg's seat if and when there was a vacancy.[12] Newman announced that, if appointed to the Senate, she would not run for reelection in 2010, nor would she endorse any candidate in that race.[12]
In face of Senate Republican Leaders asking Gregg to reconsider, Gregg reached a deal with Governor John Lynch that he would appoint a placeholder in order to avoid changing the partisan makeup of the United States Senate.[7] However, on February 12, 2009, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with the Obama administration on issues surrounding the United States census and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Gregg announced he was withdrawing his nomination for the position of Commerce Secretary and remaining in the Senate.[13]
Political activities
Newman considered running for the Senate in 1990 for the seat held by the retiring Gordon J. Humphrey.[14]
Newman joined Standing Up for New Hampshire Families, a bipartisan organization opposing the effort of the New Hampshire Legislature to repeal legislation allowing same-sex marriage in New Hampshire.[15]