Washington, D.C.—December 10, 2009—The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University and the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation of Vienna, Austria, announced a new initiative to support research and related activities focused on Central Europe. Daniel Hamilton, SAIS professor and founding director of the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations, will be appointed the first Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professor to head the initiative.