HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

Joining Mortimer Zuckerman (third from left) and President Lawrence H. Summers are Zuckerman Fellows Lauren Hammer Breslow '98, J.D. '02, M.P.H. '07 (left) and Zachary Bookman M.P.P. '07. (Photo by Tom Fitzsimmons)

Mortimer B. Zuckerman LL.M. '62, chairman of the board and co-founder of Boston Properties, publisher of the New York Daily News, and editor-in-chief and publisher of U.S. News and World Report, visiting Harvard on Sept. 28, joined President Lawrence H. Summers in welcoming the inaugural class of Zuckerman Fellows.

Twenty-five fellows were selected to pursue a graduate degree at the Kennedy School of Government, the Graduate School of Education, or the School of Public Health. Each is also pursuing a graduate degree in business, law, or medicine. The Fellowship Program, supported by Zuckerman's $10 million gift, aims to combine the expertise and perspective of the various fields for the benefit of the public sector.

"My years as a student and teacher at Harvard represented a turning point in my life," Zuckerman said. "I am thrilled to be able to support a Harvard program to encourage public service."

Zuckerman recently gave Harvard an additional $500,000 to support the Harvard University Debate Council, noting that the skills developed in debate are particularly useful in terms of developing, framing, and articulating positions on a variety of important topics that leaders face throughout their professional careers.