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Dukakis Summer Fellows Program

A Nonpartisan Fellowship Program Designed to Prepare Students for Leadership in State Government

The Michael S. Dukakis Governors’ Summer Fellows Program gives Harvard Kennedy School students the opportunity to serve for 10-12 weeks in the executive offices of governors throughout the United States. Once chosen, students work in concert with the governors' offices to determine their specific duties, projects, and responsibilities. Each Dukakis Fellow receives a stipend plus partial travel allowance.

The Dukakis fellowship is made possible by a generous gift from Marilyn and Calvin Gross, Harvard College Class of 1956, in honor of Michael S. Dukakis, former Governor of Massachusetts.

Locations vary each year. For 2012, students have been placed in the following governors' offices:

  • Alabama: Governor Robert Bentley (R)
  • California: Governor Jerry Brown (D)
  • Colorado: Governor John Hickenlooper (D)
  • Connecticut: Dannel P. Malloy
  • Florida: Governor Rick Scott (R)
  • Hawaii: Neil Abercrombie
  • Maryland: Governor Martin O'Malley (D)
  • Massachusetts: Governor Deval Patrick (D)
  • New York: Governor Andrew Cuomo (D)
  • Oregon: Governor John Kitzhaber (D)
  • Prior fellows have also served in Kansas, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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Michael S. Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988.