David T Ellwood
Scott M Black Professor of Political Economy
Dean, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
Speaker
David T Ellwood has been the
Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School since 2004. He received his Bachelor's (Hons) in Economics from
Harvard College in 1975 and his PhD in Economics, from Harvard University in
1981. Ellwood is the Scott M. Black Professor of Political Economy and a Fellow
of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences and former Director, Domestic Strategy Group, Aspen Institute. He
is a Board Member of Abt Associates and the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation.
David
T Ellwood was the Academic Dean, Director,
Multidisciplinary Programme in Inequality and Social Policy and Lucius N
Littauer Professor of Political Economy, at Harvard. Between 1993 and 95 he was
the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health
and Human Services. David T Ellwood is the author of
numerous books and journal articles. In 2009 he received the Daniel Patrick
Moynihan Award from the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.
Presentation Summary
Nations and individuals fail to act on
foreseeable problems – even when they are highly significant and when early
action would dramatically reduce the costs and consequences. Educators can help
overcome this by helping leaders perceive critical risks, mobilize vital
constituencies, forge novel alliances, and become accountable for the actions
they take – or fail to take.
To meet the challenges of the ‘new reality’
of global warming, population pressure, demographic shift and the issues that
the rapid uptake of new technologies presents, the educational system must help
prepare a new breed of exceptional public leaders. Such leaders need to be
skilled in analytic methods, management and adept at managing the complexities
of political systems to make long-term decisions. They need to know how to
solve problems, not problem sets, and to use technology to communicate the
issues in vibrant, impactful ways.
