The critical role of the public servant has never been so apparent in this country as it is today. As this nation comes to terms with the paradox of being the world’s only remaining superpower, our leaders need to be well versed on current tools for public policy management and be familiar with the research and the solutions being proposed in academia for some of the most vexing social problems.

For many years, the Kennedy School’s executive programs have been working aggressively to address the needs of government officials as well as leaders in NGOs and those private sector leaders whose work intersects with the public sector. With this issue, we initiate a new section focused on the executive programs. We will be highlighting special courses, featuring alums, and posting upcoming courses. We hope this section will provide a glimpse into a key component of our mission.

On another note, this issue of the Bulletin would be incomplete if it failed to address the fiscal health of the Kennedy School. Our fiscal constraints have been reported in the media, sometimes erroneously, so it is important to set the record straight. As many of you have read, the Kennedy School faced a budget deficit of $5.9 million for fiscal year 2001–2002. The deficit was the product of circumstantial and structural problems. The attacks of September 11 caused our executive programs to lose $1.7 million due to the shutdown in air travel and the reduced participation in the months after the airways were reopened. During this same time, the Kennedy School, along with other schools at Harvard, acted to comply with the Fair Labor and Standards Act, which resulted in making substantial overtime payments. Ensuring that we engage in fair labor practices is very important to us. In doing so, however, we added to our deficits.

The structural problems I alluded to are the product of the successes we have enjoyed in expanding our faculty and enriching our programs in recent years. The academic results have been impressive. Our faculty grew in academic breadth and scope, and between 1995 and 2000, faculty publications in refereed journals increased 135 percent. We also launched an extremely successful and academically rigorous MPA Program on International Development. However, these accomplishments necessitated additional space for faculty, which led to subletting in Harvard Square and a substantive increase in administrative and technical support for our new endeavors.

Given the slowing of the economy, it was clear to me that we needed to scale down our expenses while preserving our academic prowess. I made a strategic decision in the early spring to trim our costs and begin a scaling back of programs that were important but not critical to our central mission. Kennedy school administrators worked overtime to help carry out these plans.

My plan called for reducing our deficit to $2.9 million for the 2003 fiscal year and balancing the budget fully by 2004. The good news is that we are on track now. According to McKinsey & Co., which reviewed the Kennedy School plans for reducing its operating deficit, barring exceptional circumstances, the Kennedy School should meet its fiscal goals and perhaps exceed them. With the Kennedy School back on its feet financially, we can continue to train new leaders and probe the multitude of policy issues that make this world so challenging and fascinating.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean

Photo: Paula Lerner