Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietnam War, as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in combat. During the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, he was severely wounded, precluding further naval service.
Bob Kerrey
Republican (before 1978)[1]
Democratic (1978–present)
3
United States
1966–1969
Kerrey was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. He retired from the Senate in 2000 and was replaced by former governor and fellow Democrat Ben Nelson. From 2001 to 2010, he served as president of The New School, a university in New York City.[3] In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America.[4] The MPAA, however, could not reach an agreement with him and chose former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd instead.[5]
In 2012, Kerrey sought election to his old Senate seat to succeed his successor, the retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Nelson.[6] He lost to Republican nominee Deb Fischer.
In 2013, Kerrey joined the Carmen Group lobbying firm.[7]
Kerrey is a co-chair for the advisory board of Issue One, an organization that describes its mission as "fighting for real solutions to the problem of money in politics".[8] In 1987, Kerrey was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.
Early life and education[edit]
Kerrey was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 27, 1943, the son of Elinor Fern (née Gonder), a University of Nebraska instructor, and James Henry Kerrey, a builder and businessman.[9][10][11] He attended the public schools of Lincoln and graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School in 1961.[12] He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1966.[13] Kerrey pledged Phi Gamma Delta fraternity,[14] and during his senior year he was admitted into the Society of Innocents, the chancellor's senior honorary society of spirit boosters.[15]
Business career[edit]
After his military service, Kerrey pursued a business career.[22] From 1972 to 1982, he owned and operated Grandmother's Inc. a chain of restaurants known as Grandmother's Skillet.[22] Another company, Kerrey Holdings, included several fitness centers and a bowling alley.[22] After he ceded active management to his brother in law in 1983, the businesses grew to include 10 restaurants, three fitness centers, a bowling alley, and other enterprises.[22] Kerrey's other ventures included trading in cattle futures and a partnership that invested in commercial real estate including shopping centers.[22]
While engaged in his business career, Kerrey gained his initial political experience.[23] These activities included working on a 1971 voter registration drive with anti-war activist Allard K. Lowenstein.[23] Kerrey also managed a friend's successful campaign for a seat in the state legislature.[23] In addition, he served as a member of the city of Lincoln's Human Rights Commission.[23]
9/11 Commission[edit]
After his retirement from the Senate, Kerrey served on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission. The commission was created by Congressional legislation to investigate the circumstances of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and to provide recommendations of actions that could help prevent future similar attacks. It was a bipartisan commission of five Democrats and five Republicans. The commission issued its final report, the 9/11 Commission Report on July 22, 2004.
Kerrey criticized the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture as "unfair" and "partisan".[33]
The New School[edit]
Kerrey served as President of the New School from 2001 to 2010. During this time he more than doubled the endowment, taking it from $94 million in 2001 to $206 million. He also secured substantial federal funding for the school. Both of these factors helped the New School accomplish major academic growth and expansion in the decade that Kerrey was president.[34]
Kerrey presided over an ambitious program of academic development at the university. Under his leadership, the university launched numerous new academic programs, including several joint degree programs. Enrollment increased by 44% to over 10,200, and online course enrollment doubled. He also oversaw an increase in the size of the faculty. The number of full-time faculty members grew from 156 in 2001 to more than 372 in 2009. He also helped to establish the Faculty Senate, which allowed the school to set university-wide standards for promotion, hiring, and faculty evaluation. Additionally, tenure was instituted for all academic departments.
On April 14, 2005, Kerrey announced that the university was changing its name from "New School University" to "The New School", and rebranding its eight divisions as specialized, separate entities serving different constituencies.
On April 17, 2005, a week after accepting a position as head of Democrats for Bloomberg in support of Michael Bloomberg's re-election as Mayor of New York City, Kerrey publicly stated that he was considering running against Bloomberg in the 2005 New York City mayoral election.[35] Three days after announcing his interest, Kerrey announced that he would not run for Mayor, focusing instead on his position as President of the New School.[36]
On December 10, 2008, it was announced that Kerrey had received a vote of no confidence from the university's senior faculty. This was perceived to have come as a response to his management style. The no-confidence vote was largely a symbolic gesture. The Board of Trustees offered their unanimous support for Kerrey at a meeting following the faculty vote.[37]
On December 16, 2008, dozens of students took over the cafeteria in the 65 5th Avenue building; as the occupation continued, the group grew into hundreds of students from the New School, other New York City based universities, labor union members, and other supporters. Initially, the students stated that they would not leave the building unless several school officials resigned. Kerrey attempted to have a discussion with the students at the beginning of the occupation, but the students voted down that option. The occupation ended after 30 hours when the two parties accepted a treaty; Kerrey agreed to amnesty for the students involved in the occupation, more student space, and more student input in school investments and decision making.[38]
Early in the morning of April 10, 2009, 19 students took over the 65 5th Avenue building, erecting an anarchist flag and demanding once again that Kerrey resign. A few hours later, about 20 police officers entered the building, arresting 22 students and ending the occupation after five hours.
In December 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that in 2010, the year of his anticipated departure, his salary was more than $600,000, and his total take-home pay, including bonuses, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits, was $3,047,703, making Kerrey the highest-paid private college president in the United States.[39]
Kerrey's time as president concluded on January 1, 2011. He was succeeded by David E. Van Zandt. Kerrey was then appointed President Emeritus.
Fulbright University Vietnam[edit]
While visiting Vietnam in May 2016, then Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States had appointed Kerrey to be chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fulbright University Vietnam. This announcement unleashed a heated controversy, in view of Kerrey's role in the Thạnh Phong massacre of 1969.[40]
Outspoken Vietnamese critics of the appointment of Kerrey included Tôn Nữ Thị Ninh, a former ambassador to the European Union,[41] and the award-winning Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen.[42] On the other hand, Kerrey's appointment was endorsed by Đinh La Thăng,[43] who at that time was Communist Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City and a member of the Politburo, but in January 2018 was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 13 years in prison on corruption charges.[44]
In May 2018, H. Kim Bottomly, former president of Wellesley College, was appointed to succeed Kerrey.[45]
Circinus[edit]
Kerrey works closely as an advisor to Elliott Broidy's firm Circinus, a paramilitary firm Broidy purchased in 2014 which has large contracts with the United Arab Emirates.[51]