Gergen will be first guest in new Leadership Lecture Series at law school, Sept. 27

The Leadership Lecture Series at Elon University School of Law will open with a program featuring former presidential adviser David Gergen  at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27 in the law school library. Details...

Six notable leaders will visit Elon University School of Law in 2007-2008 for a Leadership Lecture Series hosted by John Alexander, former president of the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro. Former presidential adviser David Gergen will be featured during the first lecture series program at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27 in the law school library.
   
Subsequent fall programs are scheduled with former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye on Monday, Oct. 8, and former U.S. ambassador to Estonia Aldona Wos on Monday, Nov. 5. Detailed information on these programs will be announced soon.
   
Other leadership lectures will include Jim Melvin, former Greensboro mayor and president of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation; former N.C. Governor Jim Hunt; and Bonnie McElveen Hunter, former ambassador to Finland and chair of the American Red Cross.
   
In addition to questions from Alexander, who will serve as moderator, each program will include time for questions from the audience of Elon law students, faculty and invited guests.
   
“This Leadership Lecture Series is at the core of our mission at Elon University School of Law,” said Dean Leary Davis. “These programs will give our students unparalleled insights into the personal and professional perspectives of these successful leaders, helping them discover and develop their own leadership potential.”
   
Gergen serves as chair of the School of Law Advisory Board. As a commentator, editor, teacher, public servant, best-selling author and presidential adviser, Gergen has been an active participant in American national life for more than 30 years. He served as director of communications for President Reagan and held positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford. In 1993, he put his country before politics when he agreed first to serve as counselor to President Clinton on both foreign policy and domestic affairs, then as special international adviser to the President and to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
   
Currently, Gergen is professor of public service at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University. He also serves as editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report, as an analyst on various broadcast news programs, and is a frequent lecturer at venues around the world. He served as a moderator of “World @ Large,” a 13-part PBS discussion series.
   
His book, “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton” was published by Simon & Schuster in 2000. From 1985 to 1986 he was editor of U.S. News & World Report, helping to guide the magazine to record gains in circulation and advertising.
   
Alexander will serve as the Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Elon University during 2007-08. He served as president of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Greensboro from 1997 to 2007, leading a period of unprecedented growth.
   
CCL increased its annual operating revenues by more than 55 percent to $79 million in 2006. The center also significantly expanded its operations in Europe and Asia, where it opened a campus in Singapore in 2003. CCL also expanded its customized programs and strengthened its focus on organizational leadership development.