Gergen Continues Leadership Series

David Gergen, former adviser to four U.S. presidents, will speak about “Eyewitness to Power: Moral and Ethical Leadership in the American Presidency” on Friday, Nov. 20, at noon in the Coral Casino at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara. Tickets to the luncheon, part of the Mosher Foundation’s series on Moral and Ethical Leadership in American Society, cost $100 each and may be purchased online only at westmont.edu/leadershipseries. Ticket packages for the entire series are also available.

The lecture by Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN, launches a new season of talks featuring eminent historians and commentators who reflect on the qualities associated with effective and inspiring leadership.

Gergen, co-director of the Center for Public Leadership and professor of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, published the best-selling book, “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton,” in 2000. A speechwriter in the Nixon White House, Gergen later worked in the Ford administration and the 1980 Bush presidential campaign. He served as director of communications for Ronald Reagan and advised the Clinton administration on domestic and foreign affairs.

Gergen joined the Harvard faculty in 1999 and he works closely with a rising generation of younger leaders. The center prepares students to serve as leaders for the common good and promotes scholarship at the frontiers of leadership studies. In the 1980s, Gergen began a career in journalism and became a regular commentator on public affairs. Twice he has covered elections on teams that won Peabody awards. In the late 1980s, he was chief editor of U.S. News & World Report.

Gergen graduated with honors from both Yale College and Harvard Law School and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for more than three years, posted to a ship in Japan.

The series continues Feb. 5 with Jack Rakove, winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book, “Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution.” David Brooks, New York Times columnist and author of the best-selling book “The Road to Character,” speaks March 4 at the Westmont President’s Breakfast. Ronald C. White, author of several best-selling books, including “A. Lincoln: A Biography,” speaks about “The Long Arc of Abraham Lincoln’s Moral Vision: The American Presidency to the Modern Day” on June 1 at the Lead Where You Stand Conference. Meg Jay speaks about “Why 30 Is Not the New 20: Understanding the Mindset of Millennials” at the conference on June 2.

Last year, the Mosher Center kicked off the series with Jon Meacham, Bob Woodward, Doris Kearns Goodwin and White.