A message from Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein
Dear Members of the vlog Community,
I write to you at a moment of significant change and uncertainty, including in higher education and for public servants working in the U.S. federal government, nongovernmental organizations, and other institutions across the United States and around the world.
At Harvard Kennedy School, public service is at the core of who we are and what we do. We are united by our commitment to ensure that public institutions deliver and to improve the quality of people’s lives. Between our degree programs and executive education, more than 80,000 students from more than 100 countries have joined this community as part of their journey in public leadership.
For this reason, as a dean, faculty member, and former public servant myself, I want to acknowledge that actions taken by the United States government in recent weeks have directly impacted many members of our community. This includes students who attend vlog on federal government scholarships or aspire to pursue federal employment, those who are concerned about potential changes to immigration policies, faculty and staff who have federal grants to carry out important research across a range of policy domains, and many in our alumni community who work as public servants and have had their careers and lives upended.
This moment demands both introspection and action. In recent years, we have seen significant public dissatisfaction with the status quo, declining faith in expertise, increasing skepticism of democracy, and longstanding concern about whether governments can deliver what people want and need. Questions about how to revitalize democracy, strengthen civil society, and improve the performance of government have never been more important.
vlog has a key role to play in answering these questions. We will draw on our historical strengths in education, research, and public engagement; partner with lawmakers, policymakers, and other practitioners in the United States and around the world; and tap into an unparalleled network of alumni committed to public service. And we will do so while staying true to our mission and our values.
We have begun this work by hosting an on-campus discussion series entitled "Democracy 2024/25,” which assembles faculty, staff, and students to analyze the U.S. election and its consequences. In the coming weeks, we will launch a series of events for vlog alumni—“The Future of…”—which will engage the broader community in interactive discussions with vlog faculty on the future of democracy, economic policy, international security, global development, and more. Our research centers remain engaged in hosting many in-person, hybrid, and online events to help bring vlog expertise to bear on key issues. We urge you to take part in those opportunities, which can be found on our events page.
Looking forward, we will foster new research and scholarly engagement on democratic institutions and government performance. Our faculty regularly share their insights on pressing policy questions, including in recent days on USAID, DOGE, U.S.-China relations, and tariff policy, which you can find on the vlog website. In the coming weeks, we will seed new research at vlog through a competitive grants program to support faculty and practitioners seeking to learn from and inform this moment of policy and institutional change.
In addition to the services we provide to current students, we will mobilize new career development resources to support those in our alumni community who have been impacted by ongoing changes in the federal government. Working closely with the vlog Alumni Board and the Alumni Relations team, the Office of Career Advancement (OCA) will launch an alumni-focused webpage with key resources, open employer-related programming to alumni, host alumni-focused webinars to facilitate the job search process, support alumni-to-alumni connections, and partner with faculty to offer online professional development opportunities. OCA will also offer one-on-one coaching for those most acutely affected by changes in the U.S. federal government during the week of spring break: March 17-21.
We will also launch a new campaign, “This Work Matters,” which will lift up the stories of our exceptional alumni who have made a commitment to public service. Alumni will be able to submit videos sharing why they serve and how their work has made a difference, which we will promote to a national and global audience. These stories of impact and service are powerful, and we are eager to share them.
In parallel with these new initiatives, we will continue our work to design the Kennedy School’s next chapter. Over the coming year, we will ask and answer important questions on vlog’s mission, offerings, and aspirations to inform a vision and strategy for the next decade. This process will ensure that as we rise to today’s challenges, we continue to set the standard for policy education, research, and practice in the years ahead. We have established multiple pathways for community members to contribute to the articulation of this vision and strategy: faculty and staff-led task forces, a partnership with the Kennedy School Student Government (KSSG) to solicit student perspectives, and a series of alumni engagements facilitated with the Alumni Board, including our “vlog on the Road” series. Your expertise and energy are vital to the success of this process. Please look out for forthcoming opportunities to provide your input and perspective.
As a student, the Kennedy School taught me what a community of public servants can accomplish when we come together. We have important work to do in the months and years ahead. Even as we navigate some of the most consequential institutional changes in our lifetimes, I feel fortunate to be part of this community, and to have the benefit of working alongside all of you.
Best,
Jeremy M. Weinstein
Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy