"Social entrepreneurship has the potential to remedy a host of intractable societal problems confronting our nation and the world in the 21st century," said Foundation Chairman Catherine B. Reynolds. "This program will merge time-tested financial theories and practices with solid scientific research and methodologies, resulting in creative, effective solutions that cross boundaries between commerce and academia to achieve social goals."

Said President Lawrence Summers, "We are very grateful to Catherine Reynolds for conceiving of and establishing this innovative initiative to support our students who stand to make a positive impact in the world."

More than 1,000 people applied for 20 spots at the University. All of those who were offered a fellowship to HSPH chose to attend the School.

The program will help bring a cadre of highly accomplished students to the Harvard School of Public Health, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Convened by the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School of Government, the students will also interact with accomplished faculty and esteemed practitioners in multiple disciplines across the University.

The Center for Public Leadership provides a forum for students, scholars, and practitioners committed to the idea that effective public leadership is essential to the common good. It is dedicated to excellence in leadership education and research and equally committed to bridging the gap between leadership theory and practice.

As part of their course work, fellows will engage in practice-oriented research and internships, participate in a business plan competition to hone their skills at producing effective and efficient operating strategies, and devise plans for practical solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

"We see these funds promoting efforts by our students to create entrepreneurial approaches to the development of more efficient health systems, new drugs and vaccines for diseases primarily afflicting developing countries-where classical market forces have been a barrier-and providing education about health and human rights in poor countries," said Barry Bloom, HSPH Dean. "We look forward to collaborating with faculty and students at the Kennedy School and Graduate School of Education to foster such efforts."

The fellowship program reflects the entrepreneurial vision of Catherine Reynolds, an innovative thinker and self-made business leader who developed a privately funded alternative to government student loan programs. Over the course of a decade, this creative approach to private educational financing revolutionized student lending and spawned a multibillion-dollar industry.

For more information, visit http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/reynolds/.