David Gergen, adviser to four presidents, has died
Gergen worked in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Over the years, he served as a speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles.
Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy School, with which Gergen had a long relationship, said Gergen died of a long illness. Gergen 'devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve,' said Hannah Riley Bowles, a former co-director of the school's Center for Public Leadership, where Gergen was the founding director.
'David was a principled leader of unmatched character, integrity and kindness, who chose to see goodness in every person he met,' Riley Bowles said.
Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice president, posted on X, 'Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world.'
David Richmond Gergen was born in North Carolina and graduated from Yale University and the Harvard Law School, according to a biography on the Harvard Kennedy School website. He would go on to receive 27 honorary degrees over the course of his career.
Gergen founded the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and remained there as professor of public service emeritus until his death, according to the school's website.
After serving in the U.S. Navy in the 1960s, Gergen took his first White House job in 1971, serving as a speechwriting assistant for Nixon. Bipartisanship and collaboration were hallmarks of his long career, said colleagues who paid testimonials on social media Friday.
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He was also a media personality who worked as a senior political analyst for CNN. In his 2022 book 'Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders are Made,' he wrote: 'Our greatest leaders have emerged from both good times and, more often, challenging ones. … The very finest among them make the difficult calls, that can ultimately alter the course of history.'
A private burial is scheduled for Mount Auburn Cemetery on Monday, said Mark Douglass, director of Douglass Funeral Home in Lexington, Massachusetts. A larger memorial service at Harvard will be held in the coming weeks, Douglass said.
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Winnipeg Free Press
11-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
David Gergen, adviser to four presidents, has died
David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83. Gergen worked in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Over the years, he served as a speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles. Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy School, with which Gergen had a long relationship, said Gergen died of a long illness. Gergen 'devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve,' said Hannah Riley Bowles, a former co-director of the school's Center for Public Leadership, where Gergen was the founding director. 'David was a principled leader of unmatched character, integrity and kindness, who chose to see goodness in every person he met,' Riley Bowles said. Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice president, posted on X, 'Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world.' David Richmond Gergen was born in North Carolina and graduated from Yale University and the Harvard Law School, according to a biography on the Harvard Kennedy School website. He would go on to receive 27 honorary degrees over the course of his career. Gergen founded the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and remained there as professor of public service emeritus until his death, according to the school's website. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the 1960s, Gergen took his first White House job in 1971, serving as a speechwriting assistant for Nixon. Bipartisanship and collaboration were hallmarks of his long career, said colleagues who paid testimonials on social media Friday. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. He was also a media personality who worked as a senior political analyst for CNN. In his 2022 book 'Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders are Made,' he wrote: 'Our greatest leaders have emerged from both good times and, more often, challenging ones. … The very finest among them make the difficult calls, that can ultimately alter the course of history.' A private burial is scheduled for Mount Auburn Cemetery on Monday, said Mark Douglass, director of Douglass Funeral Home in Lexington, Massachusetts. A larger memorial service at Harvard will be held in the coming weeks, Douglass said.
Global News
27-06-2025
- Global News
What we know on Harvard, U of T transfers amid Trump foreign student threat
The University of Toronto and Harvard University say they've come to an agreement to allow some international students planning to return in the new school year to continue their studies north of the border, should they be unable to study in the U.S. due to visa or entry restrictions. The announcement comes as questions remain over whether the Trump administration's efforts to bar foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard go through. This past Monday, a federal judge blocked another attempt by the administration to keep international students out, saying officials' 'misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution' threatened freedom of speech. The ruling effectively preserves the ability of foreign students to travel to the U.S. for study at Harvard while the case is decided. Under the contingency agreement established between the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Harvard Kennedy School — its school of public policy — returning international students will be able to complete their degree by taking a mix of online and in-person courses taught by both Harvard Kennedy School and University of Toronto faculty. Story continues below advertisement 'If Harvard Kennedy School international students are not able to complete their studies in Cambridge, Mass., the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy looks forward to providing shared academic and co-curricular experiences for students from both schools,' said Janice Stein, founding dean of the Munk School. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The partnership with the Munk School is only for returning international students, Harvard notes. 8:35 Students face uncertain future as Trump-Harvard litigation battle gets underway The U.S. institution says students will be enrolled as full-time, non-degree special students at the Munk School and will graduate with their Harvard Kennedy School master's degree upon completion. 'This program preserves the academic continuity and community of the HKS experience from the Munk School's campus in Toronto,' Harvard Kennedy School said in its announcement. Harvard students will also be able to access 'co-curricular activities' and participate in student life at the University of Toronto. Story continues below advertisement The University of Toronto says in its own announcement that Harvard students' participation in this program would 'not reduce the number of spaces available for U of T students' in any academic programs or university housing. Tuition and fees will be paid to Harvard, which the school will then use to cover the Munk School's associated costs. The U.S.-based institution also announced that both newly admitted and returning students to the Kennedy School will be able to study at Harvard through a new 'HKS Global' program, which will see a mixture of online coursework by Harvard faculty and up to three in-person 'covenings' in cities across the globe during the academic year. The covenings, or assemblies, will 'feature intensive, credit-bearing sessions' taught by faculty, while students will also have the opportunity to participate in co-curricular activities. 'With these contingency plans in place, HKS will be able to continue to provide a world-class public policy education to all of our students, even if they cannot make it to our campus this year,' Harvard Kennedy School dean Jeremy Weinstein said in a statement. Both new and returning international students are being advised to fill out a survey to 'provide information about your interest in these programs' using their Harvard login credentials. The school says it will reach out directly with information. While Trump's attempted foreign student ban is paused, the administration has moved to revoke the visas of international students, with those targeted studying under F-1 and J-1 visas. Story continues below advertisement Canadians have so far been able to escape some of these, as visas are not required to study in the U.S., but those at Harvard are in a different situation. The school has approximately 686 Canadians enrolled as of 2022, though exact numbers related to the Harvard Kennedy School are not known.
CBC
26-06-2025
- CBC
U of T offers to host some Harvard international students amid Trump turmoil
International students facing possible visa restrictions amid U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on Harvard University may have a back-up plan for returning to school in the fall — studying in Canada. The University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy says it will offer options for international graduate students planning to return to the John F. Kennedy School of Government, better known as Harvard Kennedy School, to continue their studies in this country. The agreement, according to an announcement on the Munk School website, would allow the students to take courses from a mix of Kennedy School instructors, both online and in-person, as well as University of Toronto faculty. "We are announcing these contingency plans now to alleviate the uncertainty many students feel, but we will not officially launch these programs unless there is sufficient demand from students who are unable to come to the United States due to visa or entry restrictions," Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said in an email to students, The Boston Globe reported. The Trump administration has been at odds with Harvard for months after the university rejected government demands meant to address conservative complaints it had become too liberal and tolerated anti-Jewish harassment — though the demands have been widely derided as a move to silence pro-Palestinian rallies at university campuses across the U.S. Last month, the Trump administration revoked Harvard's ability to enrol international students as part of a pressure campaign seeking changes to governance and policies at the Ivy League school in Cambridge, Mass. Administration officials also have cut more than $2.6 billion US in research grants, ended federal contracts and threatened to revoke the tax-exempt status for the school Trump has derided as a hotbed of liberalism. The university called it illegal retaliation for rejecting the White House's demands to overhaul Harvard policies around campus protests, admissions, hiring and other issues. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security in May after the agency withdrew the school's certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas. The action would have forced Harvard's roughly 7,000 foreign students to transfer or risk being in the U.S. illegally. On Monday, a federal judge in Boston issued an order preserving the ability of foreign students to travel to the U.S. for study at Harvard while the case is decided. Trump attacking freedom of thought, judge says The latest injunction came Monday in response to another move from Trump, who cited a different legal justification when he issued a June 4 proclamation blocking foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard. In her order, Judge Allison Burroughs said the case is about freedom of speech and freedom of thought. "Here, the government's misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this Administration's own views, threaten these rights," she wrote. Burroughs issued a preliminary injunction last Friday allowing Harvard to continue to enrol international students for the time being. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Friday that a deal with the university is possible and could be announced soon. "They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right," he said. WATCH | Canadian Harvard student describes uncertainty amid Trump turmoil: Canadian Harvard student reacts to turmoil: 'I don't have a plan B' 1 month ago Duration 4:03 Plans in place but not locked in There are two potential options for Kennedy School international students, who make up 59 per cent of the school's population, with people hailing from nearly 100 countries and territories. Under the agreement with the Munk School, international students would be enrolled as "full-time, non-degree special students." Upon completion of their studies, they will graduate with their Harvard master's degree. Students participating in the Kennedy School program at the Munk School are advised by the university to apply for a Canadian study permit by mid-July. Although the option to attend the Munk School is only open to returning students, the Kennedy School also has a second contingency plan that would allow new international students to keep studying at Harvard. That option, which would also be offered to returning students, would see the courses offered online, with three in-person meetings that would take place in cities elsewhere in the world over the course of the academic year. But neither plan is a done deal. Not only are they dependent on demand, but they still need approval by the New England Commission of Higher Education. It's unclear if other Harvard schools have reached agreements for their international students. But Harvard president Alan M. Garber assured international students earlier this month that plans were being developed. WATCH | Canadian Harvard prof says Trump attacks on institution 'authoritarian': Canadian Harvard professor calls Trump's actions 'authoritarian' 1 month ago Duration 10:49 A Canadian history professor at Harvard University says U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on the institution, including attempts to ban international students, are 'authoritarian' in nature. Speaking to the National, Kirsten Weld says the tactics mirror those of past autocratic regimes.
