Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration opened its doors to students in 1937 after Lucius Littauer donated $2 million to Harvard University in 1936. The school changed its name to honor John F. Kennedy three years after his death in office, officially becoming the Harvard Kennedy School in 1966.
Ground broke on the 1st of October 1978 for a new building on the southern half of the former Eliot Shops which sits southwest of Harvard Yard near the Charles River. This location replaced an old MBTA Red Line train yard and now houses the Littauer Building under terms of the original grant.
The institution offers four master's degree programs including a Master in Public Policy and three variations of the Master in Public Administration. One track targets executives with over seven years of work experience while another serves those with recent graduate degrees and a third focuses on international development studies.
David T. Ellwood led the school as dean from 2004 until 2015 before Douglas Elmendorf took over in 2015. Douglas Elmendorf stepped down in September 2023 and Jeremy M. Weinstein succeeded him in July 2024.
Twenty-one heads of state or government hail from this list including Felipe Calderón who served as president of Mexico while earning an MPA in 2000 and Lee Hsien Loong who became prime minister of Singapore after graduating in 1980. Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize following his time here and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also received that honor.