The Citizen

By Varun Bhandari “That is a very interesting comment. What do the rest of you think?” said the professor to eye-rolls and muted groans, as yet another dim remark by a classmate was tactfully sidestepped. “What the hell was he talking about? That was a ridiculous comment!” whispered my neighbor, “Why didn’t the professor just […]

By Ioannis Tsoutsias Harvard Kennedy School is a unique place: I cannot think of many places that can compete with the School in attracting amazing speakers with such ease. My involvement in the European Club of HKS this year has been a testimony to this conclusion. When I came to HKS, I saw my participation […]

What did you do before you came to the Kennedy School? I was a trial attorney in Hawaii for the first part of my career, but the contentious nature of legal practice did not sufficiently erode my soul, so I became involved in local and national government and politics. I served in the Bush administration […]

By Jeffrey R. Kushner Traditional attempts to curb gun violence have been unsuccessful. The debate has reached an impasse. It’s time to try a new approach. I have a confession to make. As a northeastern Jewish liberal, I have held certain beliefs for most of my life. Core among these beliefs is that no one needs […]

By Tommy Tobin If you’ve been in any of the classrooms this past week at HKS, chances are quite high you’ve seen a question about identity or diversity on campus. If you’ve not happened to attend class or look at the board, the same questions were placed all around the Forum and other public spaces […]

By Kerry Williams Kerry Williams is currently a candidate for a Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (she is both an Edward S. Mason Fellow and a Harvard South African Fellow). Uganda’s punishing policies on gay love and sex have become a hot inter-continental political issue. The passing of the […]

By Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar This article is a cross-Pacific-Ocean response from Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar, the President, Malaysian Organization of Pharmaceutical Industries (MOPI), to the article “Can the TPPA Cripple Malaysia’s Healthcare System” by Mr. Unny Sankar, who is currently a Mid-Career MPA student and Mason Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. I am writing […]

By Simon R. Bone British prime minister Harold Macmillan was once asked what a leader most feared he answered: “Events, dear boy, events.” This was very much the topic of Sir Peter Westmacott’s (UK Ambassador to the US) talk to HKS last week. The speech covered a wide range of topics from Libya to Iraq […]

By Doug Gavel CAMBRIDGE MA — Samantha Power, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), will deliver the Graduation Address to the Harvard Kennedy School class of 2014 at 2 pm May 28 at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), HKS Dean David T. Ellwood announced today. As the United States’ permanent representative to the […]

By Simon R. Bone “If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I am never out of the fight.” Kennedy School Mid-Career Adam La Reau’s One Summit organization held their inaugural event “Climb for Courage” on Saturday at Central Rock Gym in Watertown. The One Summit mission is to help children with cancer […]

By Simon R. Bone Last weekend the Harvard Kennedy School in conjunction with the Harvard Business School held the 15th annual Social Enterprise Conference. It was a weekend packed with new ideas, fun, and inspiration, and was a fantastic experience for all involved. The Conference celled for reflection and ambitious visioning – not only for […]

By Tommy Tobin “The West Wing” is a show that led many members of the HKS community to this place and helped to define their public service trajectories. On Friday, March 28th the IOP Forum hosted cast members Bradley Whitford (“Josh Lyman”), Janel Moloney (“Donna Moss”), Richard Schiff (“Toby Ziegler”), and Lawrence O’Donnell to talk […]