IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE to welcome readers to the fall issue of the Bulletin. These first few months as the Kennedy School’s new dean have been exhilarating ones as I’ve met with many of you in the Kennedy School community, both on and off campus. It has been enormously gratifying to witness firsthand the intellectual energy and dedication for advancing the public good and improving our world that exists.

In this special election edition of the Bulletin, you will read about and hear from some of these individuals who are making a difference. You will learn about our alumni who are running for office — people like recent graduate Samara Barend MPP 2004 whose congressional campaign is gaining momentum in upstate New York and Robert Castelli MPA 1996 who hopes to capture a New York state assembly seat in November — and about alumni who are working behind the political scenes as consultants and grassroots organizers.

This issue also features some of the election-related research currently under way at the school: research that challenges hard-held assumptions. Can we really predict how people vote based on religious beliefs? Are elections useful civic lessons for our children? And what are some of the factors that contribute to bad leadership?

The problems facing our world today are enormously complex — challenges which demand extraordinary leadership and stellar scholarship. We are at an historical juncture where insightful policies and management are needed now more than ever. I am establishing four committees that will carefully examine our teaching, academic organization, budget, and research so that we are better equipped than ever to take on these challenges.

The Kennedy School, through its talented alumni, who are working around the world, its staff, and its faculty, whose research is instrumental in helping influence public policy, is and will continue to be a powerful force for making a difference. I look forward to working with all of you toward that end.

Warmly,
David T. Ellwood, Dean
August 2004

Photo: Martha Stewart