Obama Aides Head to Cambridge

There's a two-way street between Harvard and the Obama Administration.

Ever since President Obama's election in 2008, droves of Harvard professors and graduates have left New England for the White House. But this fall, a myriad of junior-level White House staffers are migrating to Cambridge to pursue degrees across the University.

Formerly Obama's personal assistant, Katie Johnson—whose farewell party featured a cake that read "Duchess of Cambridge"—is among 15 other departing staffers that will attend the Law School. Others are pursuing business degrees or doctorates.

The departing staff will join a growing community of former Obama aides and advisers in Cambridge. Among them are Lawrence H. Summers, former University president and director of the White House National Economic Council under Obama, and Laurence H. Tribe '62, who worked as a senior counselor at the Justice Department.

Obama encouraged his aides to apply to Harvard and checked in with them during the application and admission process, according to Politico.

"Throughout the entire process, he’s been very supportive of all of us," Lesser told Politico. "He's definitely an inspiration to me. He is someone who has lived by the idea of 'You do what's meaningful,' and I'd like to follow his example. He … understands the value of education."