The Berkman Center for Internet & Society has announced a
significant leadership transition as Professor William (Terry)
Fisher steps down after 12 years as Chair of the Board of
Directors and Professor Jonathan Zittrain, the co-founder of the
Berkman Center and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources
at Harvard Law School, assumes the role. The change will be
effective as of July 1, 2014.
Said Harvard University Provost Alan M. Garber: "Under Terry
Fisher's extraordinary leadership, the Berkman Center has become
known as the home of some of the most penetrating thinking about
how we interact with cyberspace and how it can be developed to
serve society better. We are indebted to him for nurturing and
helping to shape this unique resource for Harvard and the world.
Jonathan Zittrain is a most worthy successor. Long a pillar of the
Berkman community, he has the intellect, breadth of interests,
creativity, and dedication to ensure that the center will remain
vital - indeed, indispensable - at a time when the Internet is
woven into more and more aspects of our lives."
Said HLS Dean Martha Minow: “Terry Fisher’s stellar leadership has
ensured the Berkman Center’s vibrant collaborations across
disciplines, sectors, and geographies, while also providing an
unerring commitment to combining creativity with a focus on the
opportunities and challenges afforded by cyberspace and the
communities and communication it enables. I join with the Provost
and Directors in delight that Jonathan Zittrain will take up the
role of chair. As one of the co-founders of the Center and as a
fount of superb ideas, Jonathan brings deep knowledge and
innovative spirit to this extraordinary effort."
Urs Gasser, the Berkman Center’s Executive Director and a
Professor of Practice at HLS, said, “The Berkman Center team is
deeply grateful for all that Terry Fisher has contributed to the
Center and the community during his extraordinary tenure, and
wishes him a truly well deserved and restful sabbatical in
2014-2015. Recognized as a visionary here at Berkman and around
the world, Jonathan Zittrain will continue to inspire and delight
the community and help deepen our national and international
network of partners across all sectors.” He noted that Zittrain’s
faculty appointments with the Harvard School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences and the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of
Government will further strengthen the Center’s collaborations
across Campus.
Terry Fisher has led the Berkman Center since 2002, helping to
shape it during a period of maturation and expansion. Under his
guidance, the Center has grown from a small research unit at
Harvard Law School into a University-wide Center and a
world-renowned community of scholars and activists, engaged in
rigorous research and socially responsible innovation. He
navigated the Center through the lean times of the fiscal crisis
and oversaw the successful incubation of numerous projects and
initiatives that have changed the landscape of academic inquiry
pertaining to information technology.
Zittrain’s transition to the position of Faculty Chair represents
both momentum and re-commitment to the ethos and spirit in which
he co-founded the Berkman Center with Charlie Nesson in 1997.
Professor Zittrain’s commitment to and passion for the development
of innovative research and teaching programs will continue to
infuse the Center’s direction and activities, building on the
strong foundation and programs that flourished under Terry
Fisher’s leadership, said Dean Minow.
As the Berkman Center’s principal governing body, the Board of
Directors shapes the Berkman Center’s overall vision and makes
significant financial, research, academic, personnel, governance,
and other overarching strategic decisions. Terry Fisher remains a
member of the Board, joined by Professors Yochai Benkler, Susan
Crawford, John Deighton, Charles Nesson, Felix Oberholzer-Gee,
John Palfrey, Jeffrey Schnapp, Stuart Shieber, and Mark Wu. Board
member Urs Gasser continues as Executive Director, leading
implementation of the vision and objectives set forth by the
Board.