News Release
October 2005

Harvard University Researcher to Discuss Bad Leadership on November 4

Dark Side of Human Nature Examined Talk Sponsored by Leadership Center at Moravian College

Bethlehem, Pa. October 26, 2005—Dr. Barbara Kellerman, research director of the Center for Public Leadership and lecturer in public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government will visit Moravian College on Friday, November 4th for a talk based on her book Bad Leadership: What it Is, How it Happens, Why it Matters. The talk will be held in Dana Lecture Hall at 2:30 p.m. A limited number of seats are available for the public. Those interested in attending, should call 610 625-7880.

Kellerman argues in Bad Leadership that it’s time to embrace a more honest, holistic view of leadership that acknowledges the darker side of human nature and its impact on individuals and organizations. In a provocative departure from conventional thinking, Kellerman contends that bad leadership is not an aberration, but an insidious part of everyday life that must be carefully examined and better understood. Through examples of high profile contemporary figures from the nonprofit, government, corporate and public opinion sectors, Kellerman examines bad leadership in its many guises.

A pioneer in the field of leadership studies, Kellerman has held professorships at Fordham, Tufts, Fairleigh Dickinson, and George Washington Universities. She also served as Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Fairleigh Dickinson University and as Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Leadership at the University of Maryland. Kellerman is the winner of a Danforth Fellowship and three Fulbright Fellowships.

Kellerman received her undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College and her M.A. in Russian and East European Studies, as well as her M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science, from Yale University. She has served on several editorial boards, including those of the Presidential Studies Quarterly and the Leadership Quarterly. She has written and edited many books on leadership, including: Leadership: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (editor); Political Leadership: A Source Book (editor); Women Leaders in American Politics (co-editor with James David Barber); Leadership and Negotiation in the Middle East (co-editor with Jeffrey Rubin); The Political Presidency: Practice of Leadership; The President as World Leader (co-author with Ryan Barilleaux); Reinventing Leadership: Making the Connection Between Politics and Business; and most recently, Bad Leadership: What it Is, How it Happens, Why it Matters.

This program is sponsored by The Leadership Center at Moravian College which serves as the focus of activity for the Moravian Leadership Initiative. Located in the Haupert Union Building, the Center houses a resource library, meeting/conference room, office space for Student Government, the Comenian newspaper, and IMPACT program board. The center also provides a faculty resource room in support of teaching innovations.