Former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) will return to the classroom as a distinguished adjunct professor for American University’s Washington Semester Program and as a fellow at the university’s Center for Congressional & Presidential Studies. [IMGCAP(1)]

“It is quite an honor to be involved with the young leaders of America, encouraging them to get involved in the democratic process,” Cleland said in a release.

Cleland served one term in the Senate before losing to then-Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in November.

Cleland’s first taste of politics came 40 years ago as a student in the 1963 Washington Semester program.

“It stimulated me to get involved in politics and I have been involved ever since,” Cleland said.

In 2002, Cleland was appointed to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, formed to study the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and prevent future acts of terrorism.

Pump You Up. Reps. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) want to whip Congress into shape.

The pair will announce the formation of the Congressional Fitness Caucus today at the Cannon House Office Building. Ann Cook of the Washington Freedom, D.C.’s women soccer team, will be on hand, as will representatives from the President’s Physical Fitness Council and other groups.

The bipartisan group hopes to increase awareness of the benefits of physical fitness.

Keeping Secrets? American University’s Washington College of Law will host a forum Friday on the competing agendas of media access and government secrecy during the age of terrorism.

Expert panelists include Philip Crowley, a former deputy White House press secretary; Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post; Lisa Hoffman, Pentagon correspondent for the Scripps Howard News Service; Joe Johns, a Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News; Judith Miller, a former Pentagon general counsel; Craig Quigley, a former deputy assistant secretary of Defense, and Bruce Sanford, a First Amendment litigator.

The forum will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW. A reception will follow.

— E. Annie Hall, Douglas Fruehling and Josh Kurtz