Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is telling reporters that she plans to return to academe and head back to Stanford University when she is done serving in the Bush administration.

She made the remarks in response to rumors that she is interested in being chosen as the running mate for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

“I very much look forward to watching this campaign and voting as a voter,” CNN quoted Ms. Rice as saying. “I have a lot of work to do and then I’ll happily go back to Stanford.”

She worked as provost at Stanford from 1993 to 1999, becoming the first woman and the first black person to serve in that role there.