Voices from the Hennessy Presidency - by Eric Knight (Hardcover)

About the Book

In these candid oral history interviews, twenty-one leaders in higher education reflect on their experiences at Stanford University during John L. Hennessy's tenure as president (2000-2016).

Book Synopsis

In these candid oral history interviews, twenty-one leaders in higher education reflect on their experiences at Stanford during John L. Hennessy's tenure as president (2000-2016). Their stories illuminate the struggles and opportunities, the strategies, and the decision-making process of an exceptional leader and his team during both a golden age and a time of challenge for one of the world's greatest research universities.

Hennessy and his team put in place interdisciplinary structures that redefined the research landscape, reimagined the student experience, expanded medical research and clinical services, and oversaw the largest building program in Stanford history-all enabled by transformational fundraising.

The interviews in this collection tell the stories behind those accomplishments. They speak to the nature of team leadership, the processes that spark innovation, the keys to attracting and retaining talent, and the fragile balance between central control and decentralized autonomy. Together they offer a nuanced account of what it takes to lead a great university.

Review Quotes

"Voices from the Hennessy Presidency takes a novel approach to telling university history. There could be no better way to understand John Hennessy's legacy than through the voices of the university leaders he recruited and mentored. Their stories from Stanford beautifully reflect the strength of Hennessy's leadership style. By fostering collaboration and bridge-building across disciplines, Hennessy and his team developed new models for organizing the 21st century's research university. Stanford benefited enormously, as did universities across the nation and around the world."

-Susan Hockfield, PhD, MIT President Emerita and Professor of Neuroscience

"These extraordinarily candid and comprehensive perspectives on the sixteen years of John Hennessy's Stanford presidency provide an invaluable resource for understanding an enormously consequential moment in the University's history. Indeed, they offer rare insights into the complex, uniquely American institution that is the modern university."

-David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus, at Stanford University and Pulitzer Prize-winning

author of Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War

"Voices from the Hennessy Presidency delivers fresh insight into a transformative and consequential moment in the history of Stanford, Silicon

Valley, and American higher education. Fascinating, forthright, and immensely valuable."

-Margaret O'Mara, Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History, University of Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America and Cities of Knowledge: Cold War Science and the Search for the Next Silicon Valley

"Leading a university is one of the most rewarding-and complex-jobs in the world. This book reveals why John Hennessy, 10th president of Stanford, was so good at it. It comprises interviews with a range of administrative leaders whose expertise John relied on as he led Stanford through crises, triumphed over intractable problems, and refocused the university's research enterprise on making a global impact. Voices from the Hennessy Presidency not only highlights John's courage, integrity, humility, and genuinely collaborative spirit, but also draws much deserved attention to the extraordinary team of leaders who helped him transform Stanford into one of the greatest research universities in the world."

-L. Rafael Reif, President, MIT

"Oral history ably reveals the intricate leadership that transformed Stanford University during John Hennessy's sixteen years as president. Interviews with the president, provost, vice provosts, institute directors, deans, and chairs of the board of trustees provide insights into the chal-lenges he faced, the decisions he made, and the teamwork he inspired."

-Donald A. Ritchie, author of Doing Oral History

"As a fellow university president and a Stanford graduate, I have deep admiration for John Hennessy. This insightful volume of interviews with John and the team that surrounded him shows that his presidential lead-ership was characterized by an exceptional focus on innovation and the obligation of universities-through research and education-to address human suffering. President Hennessy marshaled his colleagues to address global challenges, and he did so with great political skill and clear-eyed attention to the ethical and moral aspects of them as well."

-Peter Salovey, President, Yale University; Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, Epidemiology & Public Health, Management, and Sociology