Nannerl "Nan" Overholser Keohane (born September 18, 1940, in

Blytheville, Arkansas Blytheville is the county seat and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis. The population was 13,406 at the 2020 census, down from 15,620 in 2010. History Blytheville was foun ...

)Nannerl Overholser Keohane
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

.'' Retrieved on 30 April 2007. is an American

political theorist A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be Academia, academics or independent scholars. Here the most notable political theorists are categorized b ...

and former president of

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial ...

and

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

. Until September 2014, Keohane was the

Laurance S. Rockefeller Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 – July 11, 2004) was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. A ...

Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Affairs and the University Center for Human Values at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

.Sharon Walsh and Jeffrey Brainard, 'Duke's Ex-President and Her Husband Head to Princeton; Penn's Medical School Denies Tenure to 2 Bioethicists', in ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...

'', October 29, 200

/ref> She is now a professor in social sciences at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

, Princeton, where she is researching the theory and practice of leadership in democratic societies.

Academic career

Keohane earned her first undergraduate degree in 1961 from

, and her second bachelor's degree at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as a

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious ...

. Keohane received her doctorate in political science from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1967. Keohane began her career in academia teaching at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

(1967–73),

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

(1973–81), and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. At Stanford, she was chair of the faculty senate and won the Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, the university's highest teaching honor. Keohane served as eleventh president of Wellesley from 1981 to 1993, while also continuing to teach political science. At Wellesley, she oversaw increased enrollment of minority students, led the expansion of the Sports Center and the construction of the Davis Museum and Cultural Center, and implemented major advances in technology throughout the campus. Keohane became the thirteenth president at Duke in 1993. During her tenure, she was also a professor of political science, led efforts to increase minority student enrollment, diversified faculty, and oversaw the Women's Initiative. Keohane also helped raise $2.36 billion during The Campaign for Duke, which ended in 2003, making it the fifth-largest campaign in the history of American higher education. Keohane left her position at Duke in 2004, and in 2005 was named Laurance S. Rockefeller Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School and the University Center for Human Values at

. Keohane's books include ''Thinking about Leadership'' (2010), ''Philosophy and the State in France: The Renaissance to the Enlightenment'' (1980), and ''Feminist Theory: A Critique of Ideology'' (1982). Some of Keohane's speeches were published in 1995 in ''A Community Worthy of the Name'', and more in 2006 in ''Higher Ground: Ethics and Leadership in the Modern University''. In 2009-11, Keohane chaired a committee on undergraduate women's leadership at

, appointed by President Shirley M. Tilghman. She has also launched discussions on the future of women's leadership, and on the future of

liberal education A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free (Latin: ''liber'') human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment ...

. In fall 2013 she was at the

American Academy in Berlin The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and Germany ...

as the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Visitor.

Other positions

In 1991, Keohane was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

. In 1994, she was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Keohane was inducted into the

National Women's Hall of Fame The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution incorporated in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York, although it did not induct its first enshrinees until 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees. Induc ...

in 1995. In 1998, Keohane received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

. She has served on many community and professional bodies, including being active in the

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

Alumni Association. In 1996, following nearly 3 years of intense litigation over the estate of

Doris Duke Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealth, luxurious l ...

, Keohane was named as one of the "six people howould sit as trustees of the charitable foundations established by Miss Duke's will.". In 2008, Keohane was chair of the Board of Trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDC

during the controversy over the Trustees decision to close and dismantle Duke Gardens (New Jersey), Duke Gardens, established in 1958 by

in honor of her father

James Buchanan Duke James Buchanan Duke (December 23, 1856 – October 10, 1925) was an American tobacco and electric power industrialist best known for the introduction of modern cigarette manufacture and marketing, and his involvement with Duke University. ...

. Representatives of the DDCF stated that the Gardens were "perpetuating the Duke family history of personal passions and conspicuous consumption." Keohane is also a member of the

Harvard Corporation The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation) is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards, and is now the oldest corporation in America. Together with ...

, the governing body of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, and is the only current member of that body, save for current Harvard president

Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian and was the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman to serve in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or gradu ...

, not to have earned a degree from Harvard. In April 2013, Keohane told Harvard students advocating for climate change divestment that they should instead "Thank BP" for its investment in clean energy. The comment caused an uproar among Harvard students, leading climate activist

Bill McKibben William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...

to tweet the following:

"Harvard behaving outrageously to divestment campaign, trustee urges students to 'thank BP' https://web.archive.org/web/20130415025059/http://divestharvard.com/2013/04/09/divest-harvard-meets-with-trustees-again/" Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) April 10, 2013

Biographical notes

Keohane was born in

, and graduated from high school in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. Her first husband was Patrick Henry, a Professor of Religion at Swarthmore College. Her husband is

Robert Keohane Robert Owen Keohane (born October 3, 1941) is an American academic working within the fields of international relations and international political economy. Following the publication of his influential book ''After Hegemony'' (1984), he has bec ...

, also a noted political scientist. Her sister, Geneva Overholser, is a prominent journalist and currently director of the

School of Journalism A journalism school is a school or department, usually part of an established university, where journalists are trained. 'J-School' is an increasingly used term for a journalism department at a school or college. Journalists in most parts of the ...

at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Keohane and her husband have four grown children: Sarah, Stephan, Jonathan, and

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate ...

. Keohane's last name is often subject to mispronunciation. While the most common pronunciation is ''Kee-oh-hayne'', following the name's phonetics, the correct pronunciation is ''Koh-hann'', incorporating a silent 'e' and a hard 'a'.

Notes

External links

National Women's Hall of Fame Biography

Inventory of the Nannerl O. Keohane Reference Collection
University Archives, Duke University
Nannerl O. Keohane as the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Visitor
at the

*
"Oral History with Nannerl Keohane,"
Stanford Oral History Project, 1988.
Nannerl O. Keohane: An Oral History
" Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Keohane, Nannerl O. 1940 births Living people American political philosophers Stanford University Department of Political Science faculty Duke University faculty People from Blytheville, Arkansas Presidents of Duke University Princeton University faculty Swarthmore College faculty Harvard Fellows Presidents of Wellesley College Wellesley College alumni Wellesley College faculty Yale University alumni People from Hot Springs, Arkansas Marshall Scholars Members of the American Philosophical Society