Praise for Voices from the Hennessy Presidency

“Voices from the Hennessy Presidency takes a novel approach to telling university history. There could be no better way to understand John Hennessy’s legacy than through the voices of the university leaders he recruited and mentored. Their stories from Stanford beautifully reflect the strength of Hennessy’s leadership style. By fostering collaboration and bridge building across disciplines, Hennessy and his team developed new models for organizing the 21st century’s research university. Stanford benefited enormously, as did universities across the nation and around the world.”  
—Susan Hockfield, PhD, MIT President Emerita and Professor of Neuroscience

“These extraordinarily candid and comprehensive perspectives on the sixteen years of John Hennessy’s Stanford presidency provide an invaluable resource for understanding an enormously consequential moment in the University’s history. Indeed, they offer rare insights into the complex, uniquely American institution that is the modern university.”
—David M. Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus, at Stanford University and Pulitzer Prize-winning author ofFreedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War

“Voices from the Hennessy Presidency delivers fresh insight into a transformative and consequential moment in the history of Stanford, Silicon Valley, and American higher education. Fascinating, forthright, and immensely valuable.” 
—Margaret O’Mara, Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History, University of Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of Americaand Cities of Knowledge: Cold War Science and the Search for the Next Silicon Valley

“Leading a university is one of the most rewarding – and complex – jobs in the world. This book reveals why John Hennessy, 10th president of Stanford, was so good at it. It comprises interviews with a range of administrative leaders whose expertise John relied on as he led Stanford through crises, triumphed over intractable problems, and refocused the university’s research enterprise on making a global impact. Voices from the Hennessy Presidency not only highlights John’s courage, integrity, humility and genuinely collaborative spirit, but also draws much deserved attention to the extraordinary team of leaders who helped him transform Stanford into one of the greatest research universities in the world.” 
—L. Rafael Reif, President, MIT

“Oral history ably reveals the intricate leadership that transformed Stanford University during John Hennessy’s sixteen years as president. Interviews with the president, provost, vice provosts, institute directors, deans, and chairs of the board of trustees provide insights into the challenges he faced, the decisions he made, and the teamwork he inspired.” 
—Donald A. Ritchie, author of Doing Oral History

“As a fellow university president and a Stanford graduate, I have deep admiration for John Hennessy. This insightful volume of interviews with John and the team that surrounded him shows that his presidential leadership was characterized by an exceptional focus on innovation and the obligation of universities – through research and education – to address human suffering. President Hennessy marshaled his colleagues to address global challenges, and he did so with great political skill and clear-eyed attention to the ethical and moral aspects of them as well.”
—Peter Salovey, President, Yale University; Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, Epidemiology & Public Health, Management, and Sociology

“Over many decades, Stanford has progressed to the highest ranks of research universities. The Hennessy years, however, were truly transformational, comparable to the origins of Silicon Valley in the Sterling/Terman era. Among many important developments in these sixteen years, Stanford became a powerhouse in interdisciplinary, problem-oriented research in a multitude of critical areas: environment and climate, medicine, biotechnology and the life sciences, applications of materials science, and many more. This book captures all this through the eyes of the University’s leaders, the key people who worked with President Hennessy – if you like, the engineers of this transformation. It is an important document in the history of American higher education.” 
—A. Michael Spence, former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and of the Stanford Graduate School of Business; winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

"It is no small feat to lead a university that is revered the world over. I have known Dr. John Hennessy for decades, and have witnessed first-hand the qualities and character that made him such a fine university president. John provided inspirational leadership and unwavering devotion over his 16-year tenure that not only upheld Stanford's long-standing reputation, but propelled the institution forward with a dynamic vision of greater global impact. Voices from the Hennessy Presidency captures the greatness of the Hennessy era with a unique insider perspective, and offers invaluable lessons and insights for all of us working to benefit humanity through the pursuit of research, scholarship, and education." 
—Henry T. Yang, Chancellor, University of California Santa Barbara