K-School Would Welcome Duke Back

In the wake of Gov. Michael S. Dukakis' announcement Tuesday that he would not run for a fourth term, officials at the Kennedy School of Government said that Dukakis would be a great asset to the K-School if he were to return there as a faculty member when his term expires.

"To have someone like Dukakis around would be of great value to the Kennedy School," said Alan Altshuler, director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at the K-School.

However, Steven R. Singer, a spokesperson for the K-School, would not comment when asked if there were plans for Dukakis to return to the school. Singer said that information regarding prospective faculty members is kept confidential.

Faculty members contacted yesterday agreed with Altshuler that Dukakis would be an asset to the K-School because of the governor's experience in public affairs and his past term as a professor at Harvard.

"I think it's always valuable for a school of government to have the opportunity to interact with someone who's had actual government experience," said David Runkel, acting director of the Institute of Politics (IOP). "Dukakis would be a good addition to the school, if that's what he wants to do."

Runkel, who will be leaving his post this month to serve as communications director for U.S. Attorney General and Former IOP Director Richard L. Thornburgh, will be replaced by Professor of Electoral Politics Shirley Williams. Williams, a former member of the British Parliament, was appointed interim IOP director last month.

Dukakis served as a lecturer and director of intergovernmental studies at the K-School from 1979 to 1982. Many faculty members have said that his stay there gave him the time needed to reflect and learn in order to retake the governor's post, which he lost to Edward J. King in 1978.

The Mass. governor strengthened his ties with the K-School during his bid for the presidency last year, when he solicited campaign advice from top professors, including Dillon Professor of International Affairs Joseph S. Nye and Academic Dean Albert Carnesale.

But while it is still uncertain whether Dukakis will return to the K-School in two years, his wife, Kitty, will be returning to work today as director of the K-School's Public Space Partnership Program, according to Renee L. Robin, executive director of the program.

Kitty Dukakis took a leave of absence last April to campaign with her husband and will be returning today to work out her work schedule. She will probably work one to two days per week, Robin said.

Started in 1985 with help from Kitty Dukakis, the program seeks to improve "public spaces," such as parks and recreational areas. Winthrop Park on JFK Street was one of the program's projects, Robin said.