A message from Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein
Dear Harvard Kennedy School Community,
As we begin the academic year, I am delighted to welcome everyone back to campus. This will be my first year leading the School as dean, and my first fall semester on campus since I graduated more than 20 years ago!
This summer has given me an opportunity to get to know ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø all over again. I’ve been meeting with faculty and staff, welcoming students to campus, and exploring the nooks and crannies of this beautiful campus. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel: to launch the annual Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative in New York, to celebrate summer interns funded by the Institute of Politics in Washington, D.C., and to dance with 30+ ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø alums from Norway, South Africa, Liberia, and Ethiopia in Oslo at a celebration of the scholarship program that brought them to campus.
Certainly, the Kennedy School has evolved over the last two decades. But it’s clear to me that the heart of the School is the same. No institution is doing more to train the next generation of problem-solvers that society needs. And no institution can rival our ability to produce high-quality research and apply it to the policy problems that matter most in the world.
Whether you are a student, faculty, staff, or fellow, you are part of this special place. And I am especially eager to hear what brings you here and what aspirations you have for ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø and our community.
As campus fills with new and returning students, I look forward to getting to know many more of you. I’ve already had so much fun talking tech policy with the MC/MPAs, taking questions about the state of the world from the Mason Fellows, and enjoying informal conversations during a happy hour in the courtyard with the MPA/IDs.
This year, ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø will be a home away from home to 1,111 master's students and 100 PhD students, 56% of whom are international, representing more than 100 different countries. Together, the students in our degree programs bring more than 7,000 years of work experience into the classroom! I hope you’ll take advantage of my office hours and Dean’s Breakfasts so we can engage in less formal settings. Watch for more details on how to register soon.
As we enter this new academic year, I know it is not an easy time in the world. And it is not an easy time for higher education or for Harvard. But where better to be at a moment like this than the Kennedy School? This is a community that believes fervently in facing the world’s challenges head-on, engaging in vigorous and open debate, and coming together as a community to deliberate on the way forward.
This summer, a task force, led by Academic Dean Erica Chenoweth and Professor Archon Fung, worked with faculty and staff to develop programming to support ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø in navigating the intense political and policy issues of the moment together. Look for an email next week laying out a schedule of major events, a set of skill-building clinics and activities, and a summary of our school-wide efforts to prepare for the fall. Because elections, and politics more broadly, can be polarizing, our programming on these topics will be framed as an opportunity to further strengthen our ability to have candid and constructive conversations about divisive topics. The ability to engage across difference is a crucial skill for policymakers and public leaders—and for everyone in this community who cares about having an impact in the world.
For now, though, I hope you are as excited as I am about the beginning of the academic year and will take advantage of the opportunities for us to connect next week, whether at the gatherings planned for students, faculty, or staff, and in the months ahead.
I look forward to working with all of you as we write the next chapter of the Kennedy School together.
Best,
Jeremy