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@harvard.edu
Assistant
Nancy Howley (617-496-0556)
David Gergen

Profile

David Gergen is a senior political analyst for CNN and has served as an adviser to four U.S. presidents. He is a public service professor of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the director of its Center for Public Leadership. In 2000, he published the best-selling book, Eyewitness to Power:The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.

Gergen was born in Durham,North Carolina, where his father taught mathematics at Duke University. He graduated with honors from both Yale College (1963) and Harvard Law School (1967), and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for nearly three and a half years, posted to a ship in Japan.

Gergen joined the Nixon White House in 1971, as a staff assistant on the speech writing team, a group of heavyweights that included Pat Buchanan, Ben Stein, and Bill Safire. Gergen went on to work in the administration of Gerald Ford and as an adviser to the 1980 George H.W. Bush presidential campaign. He served as Director of Communications for Ronald Reagan and as adviser to Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher on domestic and foreign affairs.

In his private life, Gergen works as a political journalist and analyst. From 1985-1986 he worked as an editor at U.S. News & World Report, where he also served as editor-at-large. Gergen's career in television began in 1985, when he joined the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour for widely praised Friday night discussions of politics. Today, he appears frequently on CNN as a senior political analyst and contributes a monthly column to Parade Magazine.

Gergen joined the Harvard faculty in 1999. He is active as a speaker on leadership and sits on many boards, including Teach for America, the Aspen Institute, and Duke University, where he taught from 1995-1999. He is a member of the Washington D.C. Bar and the Council on Foreign Relations, and holds 19 honorary degrees.

Gergen lives in Cambridge, MA with his wife Anne, a family therapist. They have two children, Christopher and Katherine, and four grandchildren.

Courses

Fall

  • DPI-329 Contemporary Issues in American Elections

Not Offered

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:

  • Commentary
    • Gergen, David. "Boston Never Surrenders." CNN.com, April 17, 2013.
    • Gergen, David. "Obama's Historic Speech Deepens Divisions." CNN, January 23, 2013.
    • Gergen, David. "Obama 2.0: Smarter, Tougher -- but Wiser?" CNN, January 19, 2013.
    • Zuckerman, Michael, and David Gergen. "Inouye: Man of Courage, Humanity, Dignity." CNN, December 18 , 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Honor the Victims -- With Action." CNN.com, December 17, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Will President Obama Push Us Over the Cliff?" CNN.com, November 30, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Why We Need More Joe Liebermans." Hartford Courant, November 16, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Partisans Are Fired Up on Both Sides." CNN.com, October 12, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Romney was Hungry, Obama was Flat." CNN, October 4, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Now It's Up To Obama." CNN.com, September 6, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Did Mitt Romney Gain Ground?" CNN.com, August 31, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Ann Romney Stole the Show on Opening Night." CNN.com, August 29, 2012.
    • Gergen, David, and Michael Zuckerman. "Election a Stark Choice on America's Future." CNN.com, August 24, 2012.
    • Gergen, David, and Michael Zuckerman. "2012 Winner Must Unite America on Ideals." CNN.com, July 4, 2012.
    • Gergen, David, and Michael Zuckerman. "2012 Winner Must Unite America on Ideals." CNN.com, July 3, 2012.
    • Gergen, David. "Are Voters Ready to Move on?" CNN.com, June 28, 2012.
    • Gergen, David, and Michael Zuckerman. "Supreme Court in a No-Win Position on Obamacare?" CNN.com, June 12, 2012.
    • Gergen, David, and Michael Zuckerman. "A Victory for Curbs on Public Worker Unions." CNN.com, June 6, 2012.