Splitting his time between Columbus and Washington, D.C., makes Peter Swire a busy man.

Swire, a professor of law at Moritz College of Law, resides in Washington and commutes to Columbus each week, flying out of D.C. on Sundays and returning to his family Thursdays or Fridays.

“I’ve never known someone who is always ‘on the go’ more than Professor Swire,” said Gilda Mossadegh, a law student at Moritz College of Law. “He is capable of doing so much all at once in different cities and always has a smile on his face.”

Swire’s ties to Washington developed while working for the White House during the Clinton administration. He was the first person to hold the position of chief counselor for privacy in the Executive Office of the President at the Office of Management and Budget.

Swire took a leave of absence from Ohio State from March 1999 until January 2001 while he served in the White House. During that time, his wife took a job in Washington and his children became settled into schools.

“I put down roots in Washington, and commuting isn’t bad at all,” Swire said.

As director of the law school’s summer internship program, Swire’s ties to Washington and OSU come in handy.

“For the time I spend in Washington, I can help OSU students,” Swire said.

Mossadegh participated a summer internship program that Swire developed.

“He put 110 percent into making the Washington, D.C., program a success this summer,” Mossadegh said. “There is something immensely appealing when a professor really cares about your future and is willing to help you with all he can to reach your goals.”

“Before this summer became a reality, I had always dreamed of working in the White House,” she said. “Peter Swire helped me achieve my dream and I will always be thankful to him for that.”

Raashi Sachdeva, a second- year law student, took part in the summer program as well.

“It was a really great opportunity, especially in a tight economy,” Sachdeva said. “He is a great, great professor. You go into his class and you come out thinking ‘Wow he really knows his stuff’.”

Lauren Steinfeld worked with Swire as the associate chief counselor for privacy at the Office of Management and Budget.

“Peter is incredibly bright,” Steinfeld said. “He is always the guy with new ideas and puts things together in a new way that people never thought of before.”

Swire also strives to keep up on news events, among other things, Steinfeld said.

“Peter was about to give a speech at a conference when some new privacy legislation just passed. He updated his presentation to include the legislation that passed just 20 minutes before,” Steinfeld said.

Steinfeld is the University of Pennsylvania’s chief privacy officer; the first Ivy League university to have such a position.

“I still call Peter about things in my daily job,” Steinfeld said.

Jim Brudney, professor of law, has known Swire since 1996.

“Peter has a refreshing ability to put academic conversation in a larger perspective, while still remaining sensitive to other peoples viewpoints,” Brudney said. “He always looks to develop consensus.”

Ari Swartz, associate director for the Center for Democracy and Technology, has worked with Swire before, during and after his time at the White House.

“We had lunch together, and he insisted on paying us back for his $2 sandwich,” Swartz said. “He didn’t want any appearance of impropriety on his part.”

“Peter has a rare ability to influence policy even as an academic,” he said. “When the Department of Homeland Security was developed, Peter was one of the main influences to have the position of privacy officer put into the agency.”

Swire’s interest in privacy issues dates back to 1980 and his undergraduate thesis about the link between information technology and the law, he said. “It had always been a huge interest for me.”

“Personal information can zip around the globe in seconds,” Swire said. “We needed to create new rules for privacy. When I came to OSU, I decided to make privacy my main interest.”