Professor Emeritus Wins Smithsonian Award

Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential scholar and Harvard professor emeritus of government, was this week named the inaugural winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s Paul Peck Presidential Award for his influential studies on the American presidency.

He will be honored on Saturday at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington D.C. with $25,000 and a specially-designed Smithsonian medal.

The “Portrayal of a President” award honors an individual who has represented the presidency in a literary or visual manner. Winners can be artists, scholars, journalists, or biographers.

Neustadt’s books, such as Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, are standard reading for sitting presidents, and he has advised John F. Kennedy ’40, Ronald Reagan, Michael Dukakis, and Bill Clinton.

“His influence on the modern presidency is the greatest of any living scholar,” said Marc Pachter, public information officer of the National Portrait Gallery.

Kennedy, Pachter said, was so impressed with Neustadt’s first book that he asked Neustadt for a memo detailing how he should make the transition into the oval office. He has affected people involved with the government—journalists and scholars alike—and has defined the extent of power and authority a president has, according to Pachter.

“Richard Neustadt is a giant among scholars of the American Presidency. His analysis of presidential power has stood the test of time,” Roger B. Porter, IBM professor of business and government, wrote in an e-mail. “His insights have enriched our understanding of how presidents can provide leadership in the U.S. political system for more than four decades.”

In his writings, Neustadt has analyzed past presidencies to find what characteristics define a successful presidency.

He advises presidents to use the “power of persuasion” to gain political support.

Porter, who wrote his dissertation under Neustadt, said Neustadt has also influenced the academic world as a mentor to budding scholars.

“He has been generous with his time, incisive and penetrating in his comments, and immensely encouraging to more than two generations of young scholars,” Porter said. “He is without guile or ego and the very model of a marvelous teacher, scholar, and friend.”

Neustadt was first nominated by a committee including representatives from the White House Historical Foundation, the Center for Study of the Presidency, the American Political Science Association, Junior State of American and Close Up.

The final decision was made by a selection committee including former presidential candidate Bob Dole, David Gergen, Leon Panetta, columnist Robert Samuelson, historian Robert Remini, civil rights leader Roger Wilkins and journalist Cokie Roberts. Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter were honorary chairs of the selection committee.

Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and Bush won the other Peck Presidential award, for service to a president.

Attendees of the award ceremony will include Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy ’54-’56 (D-Mass.), former presidential candidate Dole, former Clinton administration Press Secretary Mike McCurry, former member of the Reagan and Clinton administrations Gergen, ABC News correspondent Roberts, and History Channel host Roger Mudd.

Paul Peck funds the award and is the National Portrait Gallery’s largest individual donor. He has donated three million dollars since 2000.

Peck endowed the award to inspire public participation in democracy by honoring those involved with the presidency, said Anne Christiansen, public information officer of the National Portrait Gallery.

“Paul Peck is interested in gauging the public in our democracy. He’s a true patriot,” she said.