IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE to write to you for the first time as dean. For many years, my wife, Rachel Gibson MPP 2000, and I have enjoyed following the important work of the School and inspiring alumni stories through HKS Magazine. Now, having started in July, I feel an even deeper appreciation of the Kennedy School and a profound responsibility as we enter the next stage of the School’s distinguished history.

This is truly a homecoming for me and my family. In this issue, you can read a Q&A where I share more about my experiences and background. My desire to come back to HKS is rooted in my belief in the School’s unique role in the world and my gratitude for the way it has shaped me and so many others.

As I begin my tenure, I am especially looking forward to getting to know the Kennedy School as it is today. So much has changed since I graduated. I’ve been meeting with a new generation of faculty and staff who are passionately committed to the School’s mission and breaking new ground with their scholarship, teaching, and public engagement. I’ve had the opportunity to explore an extraordinary campus, one that offers beautiful new spaces for learning and connecting. And, of course, I am thrilled to meet the students. They are energetic, with diverse life experiences and backgrounds, and hungry to learn as they prepare to tackle the world’s most challenging problems.

I am also excited to get to know you. Many of my oldest and dearest friends are those I met while studying here. As dean it will be a thrill to build connections with many more of you, to learn about your work, and to engage you in helping to shape the School’s future.

In this issue of HKS Magazine, you can read about alumni including Jaynie Parrish MC/MPA 2011, who has strengthened voter registration efforts in Navajo communities, and Shunsuke Mabuchi MPP 2007, who has worked on global health issues—from Ebola to COVID-19. Our newest alumni, graduates of the Class of 2024, also share their experiences and aspirations. In addition, you can learn about current work on campus, such as the varied research our faculty members are doing on issues related to equity—from examining historic injustices to improving conditions for the incarcerated to addressing disparities in education and more.

As we enter a challenging election season this fall, the Kennedy School’s mission is more important than ever. The U.S. election—like those earlier this year in the U.K., France, India, South Africa, and dozens of other countries—is that singular moment in the life of a democracy where voters are heard and politicians are given a mandate to lead. One of the reasons I love HKS is that it embodies our highest aspirations of community, citizenship, and service. I firmly believe that when we tackle public problems together, deliberate and debate with an openness to alternative views, and engage respectfully in the search for solutions, we can find new and innovative ways of ensuring that our public institutions deliver for those they serve—in spite of and because of our differences. We are at a moment when, worldwide, the resilience of democracy is being tested. I look forward to thinking with you about how HKS can continue to improve public policy and prepare our students to be the principled and effective leaders we need to rise to the challenges of this moment.

 

Best,

Jeremy

Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein
Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy

 


Banner image: Dean Jeremy Weinstein speaking at HKS this spring. Photo by Martha Stewart.