In the past 12 months, news stories about scandals, financial irregularities and "bad behavior" of various sorts have rocked many highly regarded institutions, from banks to Congress to universities. Many have lamented a loss of leadership both at the top and within organizations, and the popular press often focuses on the superficial rather than real leadership. Have we lost our ability to develop leaders, to acknowledge their contributions and see them as role models?
Our students still recognize the importance of leadership, and they often ask me to speak about the topic and how to develop leadership skills. Two recent events reminded me that extraordinary leaders still guide us and make critical contributions to our society.
The first was the passing of the University's seventh president,Richard Lyman, just weeks before commencement. President Lyman exhibited remarkable courage and dedication when he guided Stanford through some of the most difficult years in the nation's and the University's recent history: civil rights demonstrations, antiwar protests, various shutdowns and dire financial straits. Through it all, he maintained a strong commitment to a process for change based on reasoned, thoughtful and respectful dialogue with all members of the Stanford community.
All three of Lyman's successors as president have described him as "the person who saved Stanford." But what does that mean? It was never likely that Stanford would have ceased to exist. But through his steady leadership, the University changed and repositioned itself for the future. We emerged from the difficult years as a better university, with no permanent scars or damage. Key to President Lyman's leadership was that he never lost sight of Stanford's core academic mission, while also leading the University to become a more diverse and representative institution.
"Leadership," Dick Lyman wrote, "requires different qualities at differing times." A historian and educator, he understood the need to change with the times. Today's students and faculty continue to benefit from his leadership and the lasting changes he brought about at Stanford.
In addition to courage and commitment, leadership requires vision, the ability to see beyond the immediate to the impact of decisions on the future. I arrived on campus in 1977 and Richard Lyman was still president, but the dark days were behind us. Stanford was thriving, and it provided the ideal environment for a young faculty member to pursue teaching and research, as it has for the more than 100,000 students who have come to Stanford since the end of Lyman's presidency.
The second event was June's commencement speech by Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker, '91, MA '92. Mayor Booker's acts of personal leadership on behalf of his community are well known—from moving into a drug- and crime-ravaged neighborhood to bring attention to the need for more policing to rushing into a burning building to save a neighbor. I found his story of courage in the face of heart-wrenching tragedy most inspiring. He described the challenge of overcoming a sense of despair and helplessness after holding a dying boy who was an innocent victim of gun violence. As he said, after such a tragedy how does one get back up and continue to work for a better city? Only through committed and courageous leadership.
As Mayor Booker said, leadership is about showing up in the most difficult times, about looking beyond ourselves and trying to make a change for the better. It is about character. As president of Stanford, I have been inspired by the leadership demonstrated by these and many other members of our community.
John Hennessy was the president of Stanford University
