World

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Aug. 15, 2012 in Los Angeles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Jordan Strauss/Invision

He's been a governor, a movie star and the world's greatest body builder, but Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't done yet.

The man who never tires of telling people he'll be back returned again Monday, this time as a global policy statesman dedicated to leading America into what he calls a new post-partisan era.

Schwarzenegger, in a dark suit, crisp white shirt and red tie, appeared at the University of Southern California to officially launch the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy with a symposium featuring some of the most notable names in politics and entertainment.

For the former Republican governor, the symposium marked a sudden public re-emergence after leaving office nearly two years ago with a mixed record that he suggested Monday accomplished about half of what he had set out to do.

He's hoping that through the institute, created with a $20 million commitment from Schwarzenegger and others, he can accomplish the rest, tackling issues such as hunger, health care and global warming.

He'll also take an active role in teaching at USC. The institute's academic director, Nancy Staudt, referred to him several times as Professor Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger is also publishing his autobiography next week and has a pair of movies in post-production. One of them, "The Tomb," co-stars his old buddy Sylvester Stallone.

His return to the spotlight will also include a segment on "60 Minutes" to promote the book and discuss, among other things, the affair he had with his nanny that resulted in a son out of wedlock and destroyed his marriage to Maria Shriver.

No mention was made of the scandal when he moved out of the governor's office at the end of 2010 and left his successor, Jerry Brown, with a huge budget deficit.

At Monday's symposium, attended by 700 people, no questions were taken during the first panel of the day, which featured Schwarzenegger in an hour-long discussion of partisan politics that was moderated by Cokie Roberts and featured Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and others.