Time of Transition

An interview with IOP Fellows Alex Castellanos and Tom Vilsack

By Anthony J. Bonilla

They are the political giants who walk the halls of the Kennedy School of Government: the Institute of Politics Fellows. Masters of their craft, they deign to share their hard-won wisdom, even to the freshmen. But why have they chosen to take time out from the active life to dwell in academe? Certainly no one knows better than a couple of IOP fellows themselves. Former Mitt Romney adviser Alex Castellanos and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack spoke to the Salient about their IOP fellowships and gave advice to Harvard undergraduates: 

The Salient: Why did you choose to participate in the IOP Fellowship program?

Castellanos: After spending about thirty years doing political campaigns at the state and presidential levels, I thought this would be a good time and look at where politics in general had come from and where we were going. And the Kennedy School and IOP seemed a good place to do it.

It’s a time of transition. The old ways of looking at politics are falling like scales from our eyes. Obama is doing something new and different and our government itself is in transition. From the Industrial Age to the Communication Age, [it was] transition. It’s a painful transition. It’s not only affecting government; it’s affecting politics. It is a very good time to take a look at those things and start writing the next chapter a little bit. You never learn more than when you try to share your experience with a lot of the people who are going to be leading the politics for the next generation. 

Vilsack: It was an opportunity to experience all that Harvard has to offer and I was interested in being inspired by and challenged by very bright, focused, and dedicated young people.

The Salient: What do you believe the IOP Fellowship program contributes to the Harvard community?

Castellanos: The IOP program gives the Harvard community not only a chance to talk about the theory of governing and politicking, but the opportunity to get one’s feet on the ground. And that’s something you just don’t find just anywhere else: a place where you can marry those two things, where you can marry the pure and applied sciences of politics and government. 

Vilsack: The IOP offers Harvard the opportunity to invite highly successful individuals that have made a difference in the public square to share their insights and experiences with students and faculty enriching both.

The Salient: What skills can students take away from your study group?

Castellanos: We all talk about strategy. Every pundit we see on TV is a political strategist of some sort. How do we define political strategy? How do we create it and execute it? A lot of students here will find people in leadership positions. And they will need to learn to build a governing consensus. How do you bring people together and march them to the future? How do you lead? Those nuts and bolts skills are something I hope people will take away. 

Vilsack: [Students will gain] a better understanding of risk and all of its complexities in public policy issues and debates.

The Salient: How are you able to manage your IOP Fellowship and other responsibilities?

Castellanos: No sleep. It’s tough. There’s so much to engage in. It’s a candy store for the mind. It’s a great gift to have the most interesting election that we’ve ever seen and to be able to participate in it as well as dissect it here at the IOP. How do you balance it? 

Vilsack: Understanding family, law partners, and clients allow me this extraordinary privilege and Harvard, through its flexible schedule, enables me to get all my other work done. Fortunately, campus life begins for most after 10 am which means I have a few hours in the morning of uninterrupted time.

The Salient: What is the best part of being an IOP fellow?

Castellanos: The best part here is looking into the eyes of some of the students here and imagining who they’re going to be tomorrow. You get a chance to see here what America is going to be in a few years. And you hope that you get a chance to help them along. And that is wonderfully exciting. 

Vilsack: The students and their passion for living lives of meaning and significance.

The Salient: What unique impact will your study group have on its attendees?

Castellanos: They take away that politics—whether [you’re] Democrat or Republican,—at the professional level in America today is a noble craft. It is about fighting for things you believe in, not about spinning for things you don’t. And that is worth pursuing. 

The Salient: Has attendance been high in your study group?

Castellanos: Yes. I believe it’s the free candy. People enjoy the study group. 

Vilsack: The first two sessions were quite well attended. Yesterday’s session was down a bit but that is certainly understandable with all the experiences that folks have a chance to have here and I am told that students actually do have to go to class, take tests, and write papers about this time of year.

The Salient: Is there any advice you would like to give to Harvard undergraduates on any subject?

Castellanos: There are such talented people here and so many options as to how they may serve. The advice I would give is to follow your passion, otherwise you will find yourself working for a living. And you don’t want to do that.

Vilsack: To find satisfaction and fulfillment find that which when you are doing it, time disappears and you will have found what you ought to pursue

The Salient: Is there anything you would like to say about the current American political election?

Castellanos: This election has been the most up-and-down hairpin-curve election that I’ve ever seen. It’s going to make a great country song. 

Vilsack: This election is indeed the most important of my life and one of the most important in our history. We have the opportunity to more fully realize the promise of America by electing Senator Obama. In doing so we will take a long stride to that place Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke of 40 years ago—an America where one is judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.