Press Release

Harvard Kennedy School Announces Ellis Goldberg as the First Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar

Jan. 25, 2013

CAMBRIDGE, MA—The Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs today announced the selection of the first Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar, Professor Ellis Goldberg.  Goldberg will be in residence at Harvard for the spring 2013 semester, where he will participate in MEI events, teach a course titled, “Politics of the Arab Spring,” and work closely with Harvard students and faculty.

The Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar Program is one of the components of the Kuwait Program at Harvard Kennedy School and is supported by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. The Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar program attracts regional experts who may teach, conduct research projects, lead workshops and interact with other Harvard research fellows at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Their presence helps enrich program offerings on the Middle East on campus and support the broader mission of the Middle East Initiative. 

Goldberg, whose home institution is the University of Washington, was a Guggenheim Fellow at Princeton University in fall 2012.  A Harvard College class of 1967 graduate, Goldberg will return to Harvard this spring following several years living and working in Egypt.  His HKS course will look at the causes, actors and consequences of political activity in the region in the last two years.  Fluent in Arabic and French, Goldberg has written and spoken extensively on democracy in the region and the role and rule of law in these societies. 

“We are so pleased to welcome Professor Goldberg as our first Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar” says Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, and Faculty Chair of the Middle East Initiative. “Professor Goldberg is a renowned scholar of Arab law and politics. His deep knowledge of the Middle East, sharp intellect, and intense interest in other areas of the world, will make him a valuable addition to intellectual life at the School.”

TheMiddle East Initiative is dedicated to deepening and strengthening Harvard Kennedy School's relationship with the governments, universities and peoples of the Middle East.  MEI has launched a series of programs designed for political, civil service and business leaders from the region with the aim of strengthening good governance and seeking solutions to public policy problems in the Middle East. MEI also actively engages in community outreach to create a space for dynamic interaction around issues relating to the Middle East.

Contact: Sharon Wilke

Email:sharon_wilke@harvard.edu

Phone: (617) 495-9858

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:Harvard Kennedy School Announces Ellis Goldberg as the First Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar.” Press Release, January 25, 2013.