John Alexander, the 2007-2008 Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Elon, and David Gergen, chair of the Elon University School of Law advisory board and a former Cannon Professor at the university, were involved in the selection process for U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Leaders” for 2007. The project is a collaboration between the magazine and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Alexander has served on the selection committee for three years, while Gergen serves as the committee co-chair along with Warren Bennis of the University of Southern California. The committee, which consists of academic, government, business and nonprofit leaders convened by the Center for Public Leadership, also includes two other former Cannon Professors at Elon. Bill George, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, Inc., served as the Cannon Professor in March 2007. Former New Jersey Governor and EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman was the Cannon Professor in March 2005.
The panel accepted nominations from a wide range of sources and compiled research on each one. Nominees were rated based on criteria that included setting directions and goals, achieving results and cultivating a culture of growth within an organization. Eighteen winners were selected from a field of more than 200 nominees, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Iraq Study Group co-chairs Lee Hamilton and James Baker, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.