On April 13, the annual Robert C. Wood Lecture took place at the University of Massachusetts Boston. This event, presented by the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies and Dean David C. Cash, honors the recipient of the the Robert C. Wood Visiting Professorship in Public and Urban Affairs.
When the professorship was established, it served to bring public leaders to campus to lecture and connect with students and faculty.
The winner of the professorship this year is not only a well-known political figure, but also the daughter of the namesake.
Margaret “Maggie” W. Hassan, the daughter of Robert C. Wood, currently serves as the Governor of New Hampshire. As the keynote speaker, Hassan went into detail about what she had learned about public service from her father.
As she explained in her lecture, Wood had a long-lasting career in the public sector. After earning degrees from Princeton and Harvard in public administration and government, he went on to teach at MIT for several years.
Later on, the Missouri native went on to serve as the Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Planning during Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency and as the director of the Joint Center for Urban Studies at MIT and Harvard.
Following that, he was appointed head of the MBTA and also held the office of superintendent for Boston Public Schools. In the 1970s, Wood also served as the President of the UMass system for seven years.
Hassan pointed out that her father had the highest respect for the principles of democracy and political process throughout his life. According to Governor Hassan, “Democracy must work so that everybody has the opportunity to succeed.”
She talked about her father’s experience during World War II and how it taught him equality and inclusion due to African Americans fighting alongside their Caucasian counterparts.
Hassan went on to say that the concept of inclusion is very important to her as well. She explained that her son’s physical disability taught her that families are often met with difficulties. “Inclusion isn’t always easy,” she said.
However, she pointed out that due to the many changes over time, “Every generation is including more and more people into our society.”
At the end of her speech, Hassan stated that, according to her father, “For the best public servers, their work is not about them.”
In closing, the governor explained that her father always believed in the principles of democracy and freedom on which the United States was founded: “My dad tried to realize the visions of our nation’s founders.”
Governor of NH Given Professorship by McCormack Grad School
Governor of New Hampshire Maggie Hassan stopped by UMass Boston on April 13 as a Robert C. Wood Visiting Professor of Public and Urban Affairs; a professorship through the McCormack Graduate School. Hassan is the daughter of Robert Wood.
