Top Kerry Aide Headlines Spring IOP Fellow Class

Mary Beth Cahill, the campaign manager for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, may have lost her job when President George W. Bush edged out Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., in November’s election, but she won’t be out of work for long.

The Institute of Politics (IOP) announced on Monday that Cahill, who was previously the Chief of Staff to Senator Edward M. Kennedy ‘54-’56, D-Mass., and also worked in Bill Clinton’s White House, will join six other seasoned journalists and public servants as spring fellows at the IOP.

“This impressive group brings a diverse range of experience in government, journalism, international affairs, and political campaigning to Harvard,” said Phil Sharp, interim director of the Institute of Politics (IOP), in a press release.

Other fellows, who hail from a range of political backgrounds, include former U.S. Rep. Brad Carson, Associated Press political writer Ron Fournier, former ambassador Vicki Huddleston, National Security Council member Tom Newcomb, U.S. News and World Report political editor Roger Simon, and Maggie Williams, who served as chief of staff to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The IOP has also secured Michael Deaver, former deputy chief of staff to Ronald Reagan, as a Visiting Fellow.

IOP Student Advisory Board President David M. Kaden ‘06, who is also a Crimson editor, echoed Sharp.

“I think this is a fantastic group,” said Kaden. “Not only because they are among the best and the brightest people involved in politics, but also in terms of their likely contribution on campus.”

IOP study groups with the chosen fellows will begin on Tuesday, February 27. Each fellow will be assigned six student liaisons, who will help to formulate study group curricula and introduce the fellow to campus life. Students have until Saturday to apply to the liaison position.

Chris L. Corcoran ‘07, chair of the Study Groups Committee, noted the prestige of the spring fellows.

“Mary Beth Cahill is probably the most recognized, but they all have distinguished careers,” he said. “Most are just leaving the public sector, either fresh off the campaign trail or just out of public office.”

Fellows Committee Chair Kevin P. Kiley ‘07 praised the diversity of the fellows, noting that they come from “different parts of the political world” and “offer students a wide range of ways of getting involved.”

As of yet, only Carson has arrived on campus. Other fellows will be arriving in the next week.

Another set of spring fellows, for the Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy, were also announced on Monday and include Doug Ahlers of the marketing agency Modern Media, Sydney Morning Herald opinion editor Julia Baird, University of Mainz communications professor Hans Mathias Kepplinger, New York Times foreign correspondent David Rohde, McGill political science professor Richard Schultz, and political columnist Walter Shapiro.

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