David Gergen

Public Service Professor of Public Leadership
Director
Center for Public Leadership
Office Address
Taubman-152
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 124
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-496-1982
Fax: 617-496-7301
Email: David_Gergen@ksg.harvard.edu
Assistant
Nancy Howley (617-496-0556)
David Gergen

Profile

David R. Gergen is a Professor of Public Service and Director of the Center for Public Leadership. Over the past three decades, he has served as a White House advisor to four presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. In the mid-1980s, he began a career in journalism, becoming editor of U.S. News & World Report. He joined the Kennedy School faculty in January 1999, while remaining editor at large for U.S. News and a frequent television analyst. In the fall of 2000 he published a best-seller, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. He also chairs the National Selection Committee for the Innovations in American Government program. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School and holds 13 honorary degrees. He served three and one-half years in the Navy and is a member of the Washington, DC, Bar. His wife, Anne, is a family therapist in Cambridge.

Courses

Fall

Not Offered

  • DPI-329 Driving Forces in American Politics

Media Expertise

David Gergen welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Gergen, David. "Foreword." Harvard Kennedy School Review 8 (Spring 2008): 6-7.
  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • Gergen, David. "How Business Can Stand Tall Again." Fortune. May 11, 2009, 25.
  • Op-Eds
    • Gergen, David, and Andy Zelleke. "America's Other Deficit: Leadership." Christian Science Monitor, October 22, 2008.
    • Gergen, David. "Obama is a Leader of Enormous Potential, but He Can't Do it Alone." US News and World Report, November 19, 2008.
    • Gergen, David. "At a Time of Crisis, Hope for the Future." U.S. News & World Report, December 1, 2008.
    • Khazei, Alan, and David Gergen. "Obama's Call to Service Can't Start Soon Enough." USA Today, January 15, 2009.