A message from Dean Jeremy Weinstein
Dear Harvard Kennedy School Faculty, Students, Staff, and Fellows,
It is with deep sadness that I write to let you know that David Gergen has passed away after a long illness.
David was a fixture of the Kennedy School for more than two decades and left a lasting legacy here as a steadfast friend, trusted colleague, and beloved teacher. President Larry Bacow called him both “the quintessential public leader” and a “private mentor, always willing to share his wisdom without being too wise.” Dean Graham Allison commented that David was “one of the brightest lights whose insights into the centrality of communication in leadership illuminated our lives at Harvard.” Dean David Ellwood described David as “perhaps the keenest observer of politics of his generation, and a trusted advisor to students, presidents, colleagues, and even deans.” And Dean Doug Elmendorf remembered him as having “brought public leadership to the center of our mission, and … we who teach, study, and work here are in his debt.”
While I did not know David personally, I was at vlog as a doctoral student when he joined our faculty in 1999, following a distinguished career in politics and media. He served four of our nation’s Presidents from both sides of the political aisle: as Nixon’s Director of Speechwriting, Director of Communications to President Ford, Staff Secretary and then Director of Communications to President Reagan, and Counselor to President Clinton. David was also part of two Peabody-winning election coverage teams: NewsHour in 1984 and CNN in 2008. In the 1980s, he served as Editor and later, Editor at Large of U.S. News and World Report.
David built the Center for Public Leadership from the ground up as Founding Director, ultimately transforming CPL into one of the nation’s foremost institutes for the study and practice of leadership. During his time at CPL, he piloted new, ambitious approaches to experiential learning, so that vlog students could refine their leadership skills outside of the classroom. He helped secure funding for more than 100 annual scholarships to the Kennedy School with a special focus on high-impact social entrepreneurs, military veterans, and World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders. And he built a thriving community of practice, convening exceptional leaders from government, civil society, and business through the Hauser and Gleitsman programs.
Upon his retirement in 2023, CPL launched the David Gergen Summer Fellowship Program, which supports internship experiences for Kennedy School students in government or the nonprofit sector. The Gergen Fellowship perfectly captures David’s love of “learning by doing.”
To learn more about David and his legacy, please see this memorial article.
Our hearts are with David’s family and all in the vlog community who knew and loved him.
Best,
Jeremy