About Dr. John D. Gerhart
John D. Gerhart was born in 1943 in Abilene, Texas. He attended St. Stephen’s School in Austin, then earned a degree in English and French History and literature at Harvard in 1966. While at Harvard he took a year off in 1963-64 to teach high school in Tanzania. After graduation he spent a year on a traveling fellowship at Makerere University in Uganda. He then did graduate work at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School, earning a Masters in Public Affairs in 1969 and a PhD in 1974. In 2001 Princeton’s graduate faculties named him as one of their hundred most notable alumni of the 20th century.
From 1969 until 1998 Dr. Gerhart worked in the international division of the Ford foundation in various capacities: as advisor to the Kenyan government and Botswana Ministry of Agriculture, assistant representative for East Africa, representative for the regional director for Middle east and North Africa, deputy vice president for international programs, and regional director for Africa and Middle East programs. He was the foundation’s first representative for Southern Africa and opened the Johannesburg office in 1993. His work at Ford Foundation involved many aspects of life in developing countries, including rural development, women’s rights and reproductive health, university development, land reform, and the promotion of third world arts, culture and indigenous philanthropy.
From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Gerhart served with distinction as president of the American University in Cairo. His major achievement in these years was to complete the architectural planning and raise money for the construction of a new $250 million campus for the university. One his enduring legacies at the AUC was the leadership he provided in promoting volunteerism and public service.
A lifetime of work in the philanthropic field convinced him that an essential aim of liberal education is to instill values of service and civic responsibility. During his tenure, programs were expanded for AUC students to learn skills and concepts of civic engagement, and to participate in a wide range of community—based activities. In recognition of his contribution to higher education in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak in 2002 awarded him the country’s First Class Decoration for Arts and Sciences. In June 2002 AUC conferred on him the degree of doctor of humane letters honoris causa.
John D. Gerhart’s life was a model for many colleagues and friends to whom his wisdom, humor, and generosity were a source of inspiration. On July 26, John’s ashes were interred in memorial garden at St. Stephen’s following a funeral conducted by his mentor and friend, the Rev. James Tucker.