Former presidential adviser David Gergen and his son, Christopher, visited 黑料不打烊 for a public conversation on deep political polarization and the role of leadership in bringing American communities together again.
Christopher Gergen and his father, David, a former adviser to U.S. presidents and senior political analyst for CNN, have some advice for older Americans with leadership roles in public institutions: invite young people to the table.
When a young person feels invited to participate in decision-making processes, they feel heard, and they feel invested in the future of those institutions. The inverse is also true.
鈥淚f institutions are not doing that,鈥 Christopher Gergen said, 鈥渢hey will lose their competitive advantage and become less and less relevant.鈥
The Gergens visited 黑料不打烊 on Thursday, March 20, for 鈥淟eading Authentically in a Fractured World鈥 delivered as part of a Baird Lecture Series that brings to campus each year accomplished names in politics, science, journalism, technology and literature.
Christopher Gergen moderated the conversation as his father, the founding director of the , regaled the audience with stories from his distinguished career as an adviser to four U.S. presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton.
At the heart of their talk was David Gergen鈥檚 call for young people to consider national service as a way to find purpose, build community and better the nation by learning from others who come from different backgrounds. Nor does national service only mean the military. He said the , established in 1933 as part of the New Deal, is one such model for government leaders to consider reconstituting.
鈥淲e need people to hear the call to service,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e need more heroes. It鈥檚 important to have heroes.鈥
Politics was another topic in the broader dialogue on fractured civic life. David Gergen chairs the advisory board of , a nonprofit organization formed in 2017 to fight polarization in Congress with principled veteran leadership. He cited With Honor as one effort to reduce political friction at a time when many people are losing trust in institutions.
Veterans want to go into public life, Gergen said, but they often don’t know how to get there. With Honor offers training programs that require participants to complete an 鈥渋n-depth, multi-stage vetting process鈥 aimed at identifying those likely to pursue bipartisan solutions to pressing issues.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been very encouraging,鈥 said Gergen, who served in the U.S. Navy as a young adult. 鈥淚t鈥檚 small in some ways, but we鈥檙e trying to help strengthen the center in politics, and in the House of Representatives in particular.鈥
The Baird Lecture in the ballroom of The Inn at 黑料不打烊 was held just hours after the father-and-son duo enjoyed lunch with several 黑料不打烊 student leaders who were praised for their insightful observations about bridging generational divides. It also followed an identical program two days earlier at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Charlotte campus for alumni, prospective students of the 黑料不打烊 Law Flex Program, and friends of the university.
David Gergen is the founding chair of the 黑料不打烊 Law Board of Advisors; the law school鈥檚 top award bestowed on one member of each graduating class is named in his honor.
鈥淚f you haven鈥檛 been to the Charlotte center, it is a really, really cool new place that is indicative of the bold vision and impact 黑料不打烊 is having not only here, but in Charlotte, and in Greensboro, D.C., and New York,鈥 Christopher Gergen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to see 黑料不打烊 is starting to make its impact in the broader national conversation.鈥
About the Gergens
David Gergen recently retired as a professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. In addition, he has served as a senior political analyst for CNN and works actively with a rising generation of new leaders. David Gergen has served as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents of both parties 鈥 Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton 鈥 and wrote about those experiences in two New York Times best-selling books.
Christopher Gergen has over 25 years of experience building, scaling and supporting systems-based solutions in communities globally. He is the founder of Forward Impact, working with policymakers, philanthropists, investors and innovators seeking to deploy capital into high-impact scalable solutions to address systemic economic inequities. Together, they will reflect on today鈥檚 societal challenges and opportunities and the mindset and skill sets required to help lead positive change in our increasingly fractured world.
About the Baird Lecture Series
The Baird Lecture Series was endowed in 2002 by a generous gift from James H. Baird and his late wife, Jane M. Baird, of Burlington, North Carolina. The Bairds were the first presidents of the 黑料不打烊 Parents Council, and their involvement with the university has spanned more than 35 years. Previous speakers include David McCullough, Anna Quindlen, Tom Friedman, George Will, Frank McCourt, Dave Barry, Leland Melvin and Sanjay Gupta, M.D.