March 2025
Throughout his education and career in economics and health policy, Donald Shepard MPP 1973, PhD 1976 has pursued sustainable, reproducible economic solutions to health policy challenges—from missed patient appointments at hospitals to reducing dengue fever and other diseases in low- and middle-income countries. For 33 years, Dr. Shepard has been a professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. His decision to give back to Harvard Kennedy School (ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø) is based in part on his gratitude for the education he received, his confidence in the school’s students, faculty, and administration, and his hopes for the school’s future.
What led you to give back to Harvard Kennedy School?
Dr. Shepard: An essential part of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø is its sound programs, which are important for this country, as well as for global institutions like the World Health Organization and the World Bank. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø has the chance to contribute and teach sound policies and programs, and it needs people who can help create and implement them.
I had the privilege of learning from extraordinary people who taught me skills and a commitment to public purpose. Looking back, I learned from teachers who were giants in their field—my PhD chair, Richard Zeckhauser (his maxims and pithy summaries!) and Graham Allison, and the late Thomas Schelling, Richard Neustadt, and Howard Raiffa. Through them, I saw how analytic insights are so useful in solving societal problems. I took their ideas as inspiration and have carried them with me into my career over the decades.
Can you share some examples of academic work that inspired you and influenced your career in health policy?
Dr. Shepard: I did an applied project during my first year in the MPP program. It was a programmatic trial looking at the problem of patients missing scheduled appointments. This made it harder for the institution (Boston Children’s Hospital) to use its personnel most effectively and for its patients to receive all needed medical care. Our team asked, Would reminders to patients reduce no-shows? We randomly assigned over half of 1,039 patients with upcoming appointments to [receive] telephone or postcard reminders. The rest stayed as controls following then-current practice with no reminders. This significantly lowered the no-shows (from 44% to 27%). The study, subsequently published in Medical Care, was gratifying. This low-tech solution provided an opportunity to hone and apply skills learned at ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø and, I felt, develop and implement a small but real improvement to the health system.
Similarly, in later projects, I looked for opportunities to develop and/or evaluate promising solutions. For example, I researched an economic evaluation of a technique to control dengue fever. Each year, dengue causes about 58 million illness episodes across tropical countries, of which 10 million are hospitalized. Australian researchers had discovered a way to introduce Wolbachia bacteria into the mosquito population, thereby permanently reducing dengue transmission. Working alongside epidemiologists in Indonesia, we found that the economics of this approach were extraordinarily favorable. Health care savings can virtually fund a Wolbachia program in a highly endemic city. The ability to identify a potentially promising strategy, formalize its economics, and see a scalable technique applied in infectious disease was very rewarding.
Why did you designate your Charitable Gift Annuity to General Purposes?
Dr. Shepard: When I entered the public policy program, I was in the second cohort. The program has since grown and prospered while some other master’s programs have been phased out as needs changed. A general purposes designation allowed me to place my confidence in the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø administration to determine how best to make the greatest contribution and meet its needs within available resources. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø must balance programs, staffing, faculty, and student support—a successful school needs all of these—and I respect the administration and trust the people making those decisions to continue making them in the most thoughtful way.
What do you hope your planned gift will accomplish?
Dr. Shepard: I want ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø to be able to operate soundly and take advantage of new ideas. I have confidence the people selected to lead the Kennedy School in the future will continue to be as discerning and strategic as past leaders have been.
Why did you choose to defer the start date of your Charitable Gift Annuity?
Dr. Shepard: I chose a deferred life income gift with the thought that, should I be blessed with long life, the income would provide some support in later years. You could say this was insurance against good luck. The gift offered an immediate partial tax deduction, allowing me to make a larger gift than I otherwise might have. Further, a deferred annual payment was aligned with my personal plans for the next few years during which I hope to continue part-time teaching and research. When I subsequently expect to retire, the deferred annuity will generate a higher income stream than an immediate annuity would have. In shaping this gift, I sought to apply my ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø analytical training.
How did you find the process of making a planned gift?
Dr. Shepard: I learned about the process from ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø as well as from my secondary school. Both noted the financial and philanthropic benefits. I decided this type of gift made sense and made similar gifts to each of them. Both schools have extraordinary students and outstanding programs and have given me values and skills that carried me through my professional career.
Why is philanthropy so important?
Dr. Shepard: Philanthropic gifts provide an institution with flexibility. By contrast, grants are difficult to secure for innovative projects because the sponsor often requires proven data. I hope my gift contributes to ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø both meeting current needs and providing internal resources that can plant seeds for promising new initiatives.