Education
Wheaton College; University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Wheaton College; University of Wisconsin–Madison.
He serves as chair of the South Carolina Educational Television Commission, having been appointed to the position by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in 2011. He was reappointed to an additional six-year term in 2014. In 2010 he was a Republican candidate for the position of South Carolina State Superintendent of Education.
He was confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2013.
He serves on the Board as the chair of the Spectrum Committee, which oversees CPB Board activity regarding the Federal Communication Commission"s auction of television broadcast spectrum. Nelsen completed his undergraduate study at Wheaton College and then pursued a Masters and Doctorate of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
He has taught political science at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina since 1989. He was chair of the Furman Department of Political Science from 2003 to 2009.
His scholarship focuses on the European Union, especially the role of religion in the formation of attitudes toward European integration.
On Thursday, April 25, 2013, United States. President Barack Obama nominated him for confirmation by the United States. Senate to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the United States. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, for a term expiring Sunday, January 31, 2016, replacing Gay Hart Gaines, whose term expired.