Ridge Defends U.S. Security at HBS

Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge ’67 recounted the success of post-Sept. 11 security efforts and spoke on the importance of leadership yesterday to a packed Burden auditorium at Harvard Business School (HBS).

“Good security is good business,” Ridge said as he outlined the achievements of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the past year.

Ridge cited the success of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, implemented last month, in denying over 100 people entry to the U.S. on the basis of biometric scans.

He lauded Mass. Governor W. Mitt Romney’s efforts as chair of the State Advisory Committee. According to Ridge, the DHS gave out over $8 billion in grants to state and local governments last year in order to improve security.

“Massachussetts has one of the best [homeland security departments],” said Ridge.

Ridge also said yesterday that the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions have been designated as “national special security events,” the highest security designations.

The DHS is working closely with Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Romney, Ridge said, in order to ensure security measures for the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Boston this summer.

Addressing students as a part of the HBS Leadership and Values Initiative’s Distinguished Speaker Series, Ridge spoke about the intersection of security and business.

He maintained the importance of the free-flow of commerce, especially between the U.S. and Canada.

“We need to maintain security, but we cannot let it impede commerce. We can’t let America shut down,” he said. Ridge said that creating “one face at the border” has allowed for better security and increased efficiency without hurting trade.

Ridge also touched upon the implementation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). According to Ridge, DHS has partnered with colleges and universities in order to provide “far superior security” in the last couple of years.

He noted that since Sept. 11, 2001 over 200 people have been kept out of the United States for having lied about their enrollment status at many post-secondary institutions around the country.

Responding to a question about problems caused by the SEVIS program, Ridge said that the system needed to be improved in order to “expedite the approval of graduate students and teaching fellows.”

Ridge also touched on the topic of leadership to his HBS audience.

“Titles alone do not convey or mean leadership,” Ridge said. “Chain of command gets you so far, commitment gets you further.”

Julian M. Flannery, HBS first-year and member of the Leadership and Values Initiative, praised Ridge following yesterday’s speech.

“I think Tom Ridge is a good man for this country. He is a man of integrity,” said Flannery. “Drastic action was needed. [The U.S.] is a safer place today than it was in [Sept. 11].”

—Staff writer Adam P. Schneider can be reached at aschneid@fas.harvard.edu.