Ronald A. Heifetz,  Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government Lecturer in Public Policy, was founding director of the Center for Public Leadership. Known for his seminal work during the last two decades on the practice and teaching of leadership, his research focuses on how to build adaptive capacity in societies, businesses, and nonprofits.

His book, Leadership Without Easy Answers (Belknap/Harvard University Press, 1994) has been translated into many languages and is currently in its twelfth printing; and his new book, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, written with Marty Linsky, was published in May 2002 by Harvard Business School Press. Heifetz speaks and consults extensively in the United States and abroad. A graduate of Columbia University, Harvard Medical School, and Kennedy School, Heifetz is a physician and a cellist, having studied with the Russian virtuoso Gregor Piatigorsky. Heifetz and his wife, Sousan Abadian, have two children.

"This practical guide to the art of leadership contains wisdom for us all, combining vivid stories with intellectual rigor. The authors honor the notion that we each have unique gifts to offer, and through our offering we can both serve the common good and, in so doing, derive a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives."

- The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop and Primate, Episcopal Church in the United States

Richard Lischer with presentation on preaching

• James T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor of Preaching

• B.A. (Concordia Senior College)

• M.A. (Washington University)

• B.D. (Concordia Seminary)

• Ph.D. (University of London)

A native of St. Louis, Professor Lischer's graduate theological training is in systematic theology. He is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and has nine years of pastoral experience in rural and suburban settings. He joined the faculty of the Divinity School in 1979 and teaches in the areas of homiletics and ministry. In his scholarly work Dr. Lischer has sought to portray proclamation as an integrated theological activity. He has held many distinguished lectureships, including the Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School. Prof. Lischer has published widely in the areas of theology, ministry, and preaching. His books, A Theology of Preaching and The Company of Preachers deal with the theological and rhetorical bases of preaching. His book, The Preacher King: Marin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America was named the book of the year by the Religious Speech Communication Association. With William Willimon, he is also the co-editor of Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching.

Click here for description of his many books.