PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the CIA, William Burns, is a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia. Retired history professor Jack Rossi, who remembers teaching Burns as a La Salle freshman or sophomore, said, "In 56 years of teaching, he was the best student I ever had."
Rossi says Burns always waited to raise his hand to answer a question, to give other students a chance. But when he did raise his hand, Rossi says, his answer was always very thorough.
Rossi also recalled one of the first tests he gave Burns, and the blue book the student turned in.
"The essays were all paragraphed, and there wasn’t a single thing wrong," he said. "And then I turned over the cover to see who it was. So, I never forgot him from that moment."
Rossi says, even at an early age, Burns seemed to have a direction for his life.
"He was like a quiet type of person that you had a lot of confidence in," he said. "A lot of college people, they’re really not sure of what they’re doing. He always seemed to be on a pretty good track of what he wanted to do."
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Burns is a well-known figure in diplomatic circles around the world, and he is likely to be embraced by the rank and file at the nation's premier spy agency.
A former ambassador to Russia and Jordan, Burns, 64, had a 33-year career at the State Department under both Republican and Democratic presidents. He rose through the ranks of the diplomatic corps to become deputy secretary of state before retiring in 2014 to run the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace.
Given Burns' career in diplomacy, Rossi said he might have expected his former student to be a good choice for another Cabinet post.
"I thought of him -- when I heard that Biden had won -- that he might be the Secretary of State. I never thought of him as CIA director," he said.
Burns has never been an American intelligence officer, but he has worked with many abroad.
"I developed enormous respect for my colleagues in the CIA," Burns said in an online video statement Monday with Biden. "I served with them in hard places around the world. I saw firsthand the courage and professionalism that they displayed and the sacrifices that their families made."
Burns called intelligence the first line of defense for the country and the basis for making sound policy decisions. He also said he would deliver the intelligence to Biden and policymakers "without a hint of partisanship."
Rossi says Burns has been back to visit LaSalle a couple of times, and they have kept in contact. He says, last year, Burns sent him a copy of his book, "The Back Channel" about his many years as a diplomat.
Associated Press diplomatic writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.