79 JFK AND BEYOND

Rubenstein Gift Supports Students and Outstanding Scholarship

A RECENT $10 MILLION GIFT to the Kennedy School from financier and former member of the Carter administration David Rubenstein has significantly increased the school’s capacity to attract and reward talented students and leaders and disseminate powerful ideas around the world.

One of the largest gifts ever to the Kennedy School, the $10 million unrestricted gift gives the school’s new dean, David Ellwood, an unprecedented opportunity to enact initiatives that will help encourage students, attract and retain extraordinary faculty, establish new teaching programs, and hold major conferences for public- and private-sector leaders. The gift will also be used to create a major scholarly award honoring outstanding scholars for intellectual contributions that advance understanding of public policy and leadership.

One million dollars of the gift will be used to support the school’s loan forgiveness program, to encourage students to pursue careers in public service. A second gift from Rubenstein provided for the creation of a 45-seat, 980-square-foot classroom named in memory of former Harvard Professor Richard Neustadt (see accompanying article). In honor of Rubenstein’s generosity, the Eliot building was renamed the David Rubenstein building.

In announcing the gift in September, Ellwood noted, “David Rubenstein’s generous gift offers the school a challenge and a tremendous opportunity at a time when the world feels ever more troubled. The challenge is to achieve a new standard of excellence and influence so that the school’s contribution can be ever more significant. The opportunity is to use this gift to attract and reinforce the efforts of the finest students, faculty, and staff, to train and support superb leaders who will act in the public interest, and to generate the ideas that really matter. I am grateful for David’s faith and investment in the future of our school.”

A co-founder and a managing director of one of the world’s largest private equity firms, the Carlyle Group, Rubenstein served in the Carter administration as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. He later became partner in the Washington, DC, law firm Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge.

Last fall, Rubenstein spoke of his reasons for choosing to support the Kennedy School. “The Kennedy School has played a leading national and international role in educating future public leaders, in convening current public leaders, and in developing solutions for public policy challenges. With this gift, I hope in a small way to help the Kennedy School to continue playing these roles and to enhance its ability to pursue excellence in each role.”

Harvard President Lawrence Summers said of the gift, “We have increasingly seen talented people moving away from careers in the public sector, opting more often for fields that promise greater financial rewards. This gift will make a difference not just to students at Harvard but to the shape of our society for generations to come. I am very grateful to David Rubenstein for his generosity and his dedication to this important initiative.”