Former U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad may have relinquished his Congressional seat this past election season, but he hasn't relinquished a life of public service.
This past week, as media attention remained focused on the new president in Washington, D.C., Ramstad was in Boston lining up guests and prepping for study groups he'll be leading at Harvard University.
Ramstad was named a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics (IOP), which is part of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
As a resident fellow, Ramstad meets with students three times a week. One of those sessions is a formal seminar while the other two are more informal small-group interactions with students.
"My main responsibility is to interact with the students and staff at the Kennedy Center and to be involved in campus life," said Ramstad by phone. "I attend meetings of different social and political clubs."
"My goal is to inspire students to get involved in public service," he said, noting the majority of the students with whom he meets are between the ages of 18 and 25.
"I love the interaction with students," Ramstad said. "They are bright, inspired young people who are very idealistic."
This isn't the first time Ramstad has found himself in a classroom. Over the course of his political career, he said, he made a point of visiting schools two or three times a month.
Plus, in the 1970s, he taught classes at American University in Washington, D.C. For three years, after graduating from law school and before entering the political arena, he was an adjunct professor there.
Ramstad's current position as a resident fellow will last one semester, coming to an end in May.
Each semester, the IOP invites a new list of fellows. The fellows are divided into two groups - resident and visiting. Resident fellows remain on campus for an entire semester while visiting fellows stay for just a few days.
Serving as resident fellows alongside Ramstad are Tina Flournoy, former assistant to the president for public policy; Rose Styron, poet, journalist and public rights advocate; Teresa Vilmain, political organizer and consultant; and Howard Zucker, who has worked with both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Visiting fellows who will join Ramstad at the IOP this semester are Elaine Chao, former U.S. secretary of labor; David Plouffe, campaign manager of Obama for America; Tom Ridge, former U.S. secretary of homeland security; and Eugene Robinson, associate editor of the Washington Post.
The IOP opened in 1966 and was established to honor the memory of President John F. Kennedy. The mission of the institute is to educate and excite students about careers in public service.
Since opening its doors, the IOP has hosted more than 500 distinguished professionals as part of its fellowship program.
Recent past fellows include Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and cabinet member in George W. Bush's administration; Katharine Seelye, political reporter for The New York Times; Angus King Jr., governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003; Alvin Felzenberg, principal spokesman for the 9-11 Commission; and many more.
Ramstad acknowledges the IOP has a reputation for attracting big, recognizable names and he counts himself lucky to be included in the fellowship program.
With nine Congressional terms under his belt, Ramstad is comfortable in Washington, D.C. and is widely-known and well-liked here in the Lake Minnetonka area. He isn't having any trouble finding his way in Boston, though.
"I am a lot more anonymous at Harvard, but I have already met five or six students from Minnesota on campus," he said. "And I've gotten calls in my office from others. There is definitely a Minnesota contingent here at Harvard."
Ramstad learned he'd been chosen as a fellow while at home in Minnesota over the holiday season. The call, he said, was a nice gift.
Ramstad remains uncertain what he will do when the semester ends, but he isn't anxious about a future retirement.
"I'll never fully retire," he said. "Public service is in my DNA. It's in my blood."
"Of course I'm looking forward to coming back to Minnesota in May. There's no place like home," Ramstad said. "Right now, though, I'm concentrating on my fellowship."
Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Nick
I'm glad to see former U.S. Rep. Ramstad continue his life of public service and inspiring young people to get involved with public service.
