Harvard College welcomes new leadership in Public Service

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Dear Harvard College Students,

As we begin the academic year, I am very pleased to announce the appointment of two new leaders of the Phillips Brooks House Center for Public Service and Engaged Scholarship. Professor Julie Reuben will serve as the inaugural Faculty Director of the Center. Additionally, Travis Lovett will be the Assistant Dean of Civic Engagement and Service.

For more than a century the Phillips Brooks House has been the focal point for public service in all its many forms at Harvard. Today, we continue to see service as central to our mission of educating citizen and citizen leaders. After a year-long conversation about and review of the state and future of civic education at Harvard College, we have determined that a faculty director is best suited to lead the work of the department. I am appreciative of the advice and support we have received from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as the National Advisory Board for Public Service and the FAS Faculty Standing Committee on Public Service. Additionally, I am especially grateful of the work of the assistant dean search committee, chaired by Mark Gearan and Sheila Thimba.

Julie Reuben is the Charles Warren Professor of the History of American Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Julie is a distinguished scholar of the history of American higher education. Her research has focused on the moral and civic role of universities and the history of student activism. Her award-winning book, Making of the Modern University: Intellectual Transformation and the Marginalization of Morality, is one of the most important books in the field. Julie played a key role in establishing the new Secondary Field in Educational Studies and is its first faculty director. Students and colleagues across the university highlight how caring, collaborative, and innovative she is as teacher and advisor. Julie earned her bachelor of art from Brandeis University and her doctorate in American history from Stanford University.

As a member of the senior leadership team in Public Service, Travis brings an impressive breadth and depth of knowledge to public service opportunities at Harvard. Over the past thirteen years Travis has held variety of roles, including serving as both the assistant director and interim director of the Public Service Network and the Center of Public Interest Careers.  Since 2011, Travis he has been the Director for the Center of Public Interest Careers. Known as a trusted advisor to students and staff, Travis’ wisdom, experience, and patience have greatly benefited the work of the Center. Travis earned a masters degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University and a masters in Journalism from Northeastern University. He earned his bachelor of science from James Madison University.

I look forward to working closely with Julie and Travis in these new roles as we continue to advance public service and civic engagement as cornerstones of a Harvard College education. Please join me in congratulating Julie and Travis as they assume these new roles on September 3rd.

Warmly,

Rakesh Khurana