IOP fellows include activist, writer, politician

The campaign manager for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a prominent civil rights activist and anti-war leader, and Alaska’s first woman lieutenant governor, among others, have been selected for resident fellowships this fall at Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP).

Located at the Kennedy School of Government, the IOP will welcome the following individuals as resident fellows this fall:

Ben Coes served as campaign manager for Mitt Romney’s successful run for governor of Massachusetts in 2002. He began his career in the public sector as a White House intern under President Reagan, then as a White House-appointed speechwriter for former U.S. Secretary of Energy James Watkins. In 1994, Coes was responsible for the Republican Party’s election efforts in Maine and later served as a senior aide in the presidential campaign of California Gov. Pete Wilson. He has also been successful in the private sector and is currently managing partner of Boston-based private equity firm Mustang Management Partners.

Tom Hayden was a leader of the student, civil rights, and anti-war movements of the 1960s, and the environmental and anti-nuclear movements of the 1970s. As one of the early student leaders of Students for a Democratic Society, he struggled to bring about equal rights for African Americans, and later, to end the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. Hayden became a public servant and politician in 1982 when he was elected to the California State Legislature.

Dan Miller, a former college professor and businessman, had never held public office before his election to Congress in 1992. He represented the 13th District of Florida for 10 years, winning five consecutive congressional elections. In Congress, he served on the House Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Government Reform. As chairman of the subcommittee with oversight of the U.S. Census Bureau, he led the successful fight against adjusting 2000 census data based on statistical estimates.

Alex Sanders was born, raised, and educated in South Carolina. He has practiced law, served in the legislature, and taught law at the University of South Carolina and Harvard Law School. Sanders also served as chief judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals and as president of the College of Charleston. In 2002, he was the closely watched and highly regarded Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.

Jacqueline Thomas is a freelance writer and editor who was editorial page editor of the Baltimore Sun until late 2001. She was a visiting fellow on the editorial board of The New York Times in fall 2002 and is currently at work on a book about African Americans during the period between the World Wars. She previously served as Washington bureau chief of the Detroit News and as the newspaper’s news editor in Detroit. Thomas has also served as associate editor of the Detroit Free Press and the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, and as a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times.

Fran Ulmer has spent 30 years in public service, beginning in the Alaska Legislature as a legal counsel in 1973. She was elected mayor of Juneau in 1983 and served as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1986 to 1994. Ulmer was elected the state’s first woman lieutenant governor in 1994, serving for two terms. Ulmer has devoted much of her time to educating college and high school students about government and politics.

The institute has also announced three visiting fellows this semester. They include Preeta Bansal, former solicitor general of New York and current member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Jenny Shipley, prime minister of New Zealand (1997-99); and Wellington Webb, mayor of Denver (1991-2003).

“This diverse group brings a wealth of political experience and expertise to Harvard,” said Dan Glickman, director of the IOP and former U.S. secretary of agriculture. “I know that their enthusiasm for politics and civic engagement will help spur the next generation of leaders to get involved and to make a difference.”

Each year, the institute invites political and governmental practitioners to spend a semester at Harvard as resident fellows. Fellows interact with students, participate in the intellectual life of the community, and pursue individual studies or projects. The fellows program is central to the institute’s dual commitment to encourage student interest in public life and to develop ways for the academic and political communities to share their resources.