 Leach was the John L. Weinberg Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University.He also served as the interim director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University from September 17, 2007, to September 1, 2008, when Bill Purcell was appointed permanent director.Previously, Leach served 30 years (1977–2007) as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing (numbered as the 1st District from 1977 to 2003).