Keynote Speakers
Governor Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen is the Director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Jeanne Shaheen was elected Governor of New Hampshire in 1996, becoming the state’s first woman governor and the first Democrat elected governor in sixteen years. As chief executive, she focused on education, health care, and the expansion of high-tech business in New Hampshire. From 2000-2001 Governor Shaheen chaired the Education Commission of the States, making early childhood education the priority of her chair’s initiative. She served three terms as governor, winning re-election in 1998 and 2000. In 2002 she was narrowly defeated in her bid for the United States Senate. After leaving office, Jeanne Shaheen served as a Senior Fellow at the IOP at the Kennedy School and at the Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service. She chaired John Kerry’s 2004 Presidential Campaign and is currently on the Board of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
Opening Keynote Address
Keeping Competitive: Will Higher Education
Close the Skills Gap?
Sunday, February 11, 2007
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Broadway Ballroom, 6th Floor
Paul LeClerc
Paul LeClerc, President and Chief Executive Officer of The New York Public Library, was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the grandchild of French-Canadian immigrants. French was spoken in his childhood home and formed the basis of his later interest in French language and culture. Raised in Queens, he attended parochial schools there. His father died while LeClerc was in high school, and he and his brother both worked and received financial aid for their college studies. LeClerc graduated from the College of Holy Cross in 1963 and spent the next academic year studying at the Sorbonne. He completed a Ph.D. in French literature with distinction at Columbia University.
Dr. LeClerc was a member of the faculty of Union College in Schenectady, New York, from 1966-79, where he chaired the Department of Modern Languages and the Division of Humanities. He returned to New York City in 1979 to The City University of New York, where he served as University Dean for Academic Affairs, and Acting Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for CUNY. In 1984 he became Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs of Baruch College, CUNY.
In 1988, Dr. LeClerc was appointed President of Hunter College, the largest public institution of higher education in New York City. Under Dr. LeClerc's leadership, Hunter moved into 12th place nationally in awarding degrees to minority students. Dr. LeClerc succeeded in making Hunter the first-choice college of most students applying to the City University of New York. He also held the position of Professor of French and taught during nearly every semester of his presidency.
Dr. LeClerc became President and Chief Executive Officer of The New York Public Library in 1993. The New York Public Library is broadly recognized as one of the pre-eminent libraries in the world, with collections now numbering some 55 million items. The New York Public consists of 89 libraries, spread over 130 square miles of New York City, serving the most varied constituencies and with the broadest mission of any library in the nation. In 2002, there were 15 million reader visits to the library system. The Library is organized as a private, non-profit foundation with its own, non-governmental, Board of Trustees. Its $200 million annual operating budget includes $130 million of public sector support and $70 million of private sector funding. The Library’s endowment is now $420 million.
Under Dr. LeClerc’s guidance, The New York Public Library has implemented targeted initiatives, backed by a $723 million capital campaign that concluded in 2000, that have made it a world-wide leader in information collecting and distribution.
Dr. LeClerc is the author or co-editor of five scholarly volumes on writers of the French Enlightenment, and his contributions to French culture earned him the Order of the Academic Palms (Officier) in 1989 and the French Legion of Honor (Chevalier) in 1996. Dr. LeClerc has received honorary doctorates from ten universities in the U.S., UK and France.
Dr. LeClerc serves on a number of non-profit and editorial boards. President Clinton appointed him to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
Luncheon Keynote Address
The Revolution in Information Transfer and a Sampling of its Implications
Monday, February 12, 2007
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Westside Ballroom/Exhibit Hall, 5th Floor
