A message from Dean Jeremy Weinstein
Dear HKS Faculty, Staff, and Students,
It is with profound sadness that I write to share that former Dean Joe Nye, a giant of the Kennedy School, passed away yesterday.
Joe was a singular scholar, a visionary dean, and a committed mentor. Even in a place as steeped in history as HKS, Joe stands out as a transformational figure. He helped build this institution into what it is today, while transforming the field of international relations. All who have had the privilege of working and learning here are beneficiaries of his extraordinary leadership.
It is impossible to capture Joe’s intellectual contributions in a paragraph or a page. In a century of unprecedented change in global politics, he was among the foremost thinkers to shape our understanding of contemporary international relations. Working with his longtime collaborator and friend, Robert Keohane, he developed the concept of complex interdependence. Together, their research focused attention on the diversity of transnational interactions and connections, and the ways in which interdependence facilitates cooperation among states. In his later work on American power, Joe coined the term “soft power” to capture the value derived from being able to influence the behavior of others through attraction rather than coercion. He was a prolific writer, publishing 14 books and more than 200 journal articles. And, as is true of all great intellectuals, he maintained a voracious appetite for learning new things until the end of his career. In recent years, he wrote extensively on U.S.-China competition, the Russia-Ukraine war, and emerging technologies.
A Rhodes Scholar, Joe first joined Harvard’s faculty in 1964 upon his graduation from the PhD program in government and arrived at the Kennedy School in 1966. He was among the founding faculty members of the modern Kennedy School. During the Carter Administration, he served as Deputy Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance, Science, and Technology, and oversaw nuclear nonproliferation. While leading the Belfer Center in the 1980s and early 1990s, he engaged in some of the twentieth century’s most consequential research on arms control and energy competition. He then returned to government service under President Clinton as Chair of the National Intelligence Council and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
From 1995 to 2004, Joe served as Dean of the Kennedy School, modeling how to lead with both ambition and integrity. He was a constant presence in the Forum and a resource to so many who sought his sage advice. Among his many contributions as Dean, Joe recognized that a globalizing world created opportunities for the Kennedy School to become far more international and inclusive. He also challenged the community to grapple in both our research and teaching with issues that still resonate today, including the loss of faith of institutions and expertise, the challenges of governance in a globalizing world, and the importance of the information age. Today’s Kennedy School—a vibrant, engaged, and inclusive institution with aspirations to understand and better the world—reflects Joe’s vision decades ago.
Joe received many honors over the course of his career. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Foreign Policy Top Global Thinker, and the recipient of several honorary degrees. But perhaps the greatest honor of all is the relationships he built and the lives he touched. Countless people—both at the Kennedy School and the highest levels of government—credit Joe as a cherished friend, colleague, and mentor. He was a loving husband to his wife of 63 years, Molly, a gifted ceramicist and engaged volunteer, who passed away in December. And he was a devoted father to his three sons, John, Ben, and Dan, and grandfather to his nine grandchildren. Our thoughts are with them in this difficult time.
I first met Joe when I arrived at HKS as a graduate student in 1997. As someone at the very beginning of my career, I felt nervous about my first meeting with him, inspired and intimidated by his record of both intellectual and policy leadership. I recall asking him about his first book, a study of Pan Africanism and East African integration, which gave him the opportunity to share reflections with me on the very beginning of his scholarly career, his fieldwork in East Africa, and the things that he learned about international relations from Africa’s independence moment. He was an extremely busy Dean, but he took the time to inspire a first-year Ph.D. student with his vision of how scholarship and policy can intersect. This is what made Joe exceptional: he played this role not only for me, but for so many others.
I invite you to read tributes offered by former Deans and colleagues from the Kennedy School below, which speak to Joe’s lasting impact on so many members of our community.
Best,
Jeremy Weinstein
Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
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Graham Allison, former Dean and Douglas Dillon Professor of Government: “Joe was a pillar of Harvard, of HKS, and of the Belfer Center. His passion was advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the most critical questions of war and peace. He was proudest of having contributed both intellectually (as co-chair of the Avoiding Nuclear War project) and practically (in the Carter and Clinton administrations) to preventing nuclear war. And he was not just a friend, but a functional brother, whom I loved.”
David Ellwood, former Dean and Isabelle and Scott Black Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus: “Joe Nye was that rarest of people. He was a scholars’ scholar whose work helped define the field of international relations for a generation. He bridged the chasm between ideas and actions to have enormous influence on policies and practice in the U.S. and in governments around the world. And he was an exceptional leader of the Kennedy School who combined a desire for impact and engagement with a thirst for excellence. He broadened and deepened our engagement with international students and government, championed women’s leadership, and worked tirelessly to build excellence in government. He was a man of exceptional wisdom, generosity, and integrity.”
Doug Elmendorf, former Dean and Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Public Policy; Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor: “Harvard has a long history of remarkable scholars and public figures, and Joe Nye stands tall among them. He was both a great man and a good man. He made wise and insightful contributions to our understanding of the world, to the security of this nation and others, to the success of the Kennedy School, and to the education of world leaders and students alike. And he wrote, spoke, mentored, and led in ways that were fair and just and generous to all. Here at the Kennedy School, Joe was instrumental in making the teaching of public leadership central to our work, in supporting the role of women in public policy, and in broadening our mission from improving governments to advancing the public interest through civil society and businesses as well. Joe has left a permanent and profoundly positive mark on the Kennedy School and the world.”
Meghan O'Sullivan, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs: “Today we feel the loss of Joe Nye — a cherished friend, an extraordinary scholar, a treasured teacher and mentor, a relentless optimist, and one of the great architects of modern international relations. For decades, Joe animated the classrooms, seminars, and hallways of Harvard and the Belfer Center with his brilliance and his kindness in equal measure. His ideas transformed how we understand power, leadership, and diplomacy. His presence transformed all of us who had the privilege to know him. Few people leave such an indelible mark on both the world and the people around them. And few will be missed so deeply.”
Nicholas Burns, Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations: “Joe was a protean man — founding father of the Kennedy School, brilliant academic, admired senior government official. What really stood out for me was Joe's commitment to be a servant leader in everything he did. Literally hundreds of us count Joe as our indispensable mentor. He was simply a giant at the Kennedy School and in our lives. I will miss his piercing intellect, great warmth, humor and friendship.”