Mark Kennedy (politician)

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2000, Kennedy won the Republican nomination for the 2nd district and faced four-term Democratic incumbent Rep. David Minge. He had never run for political office before. In the closest congressional race of that cycle, Kennedy defeated Minge by a mere 155 votes.

Leading up to the 2002 elections, although Minnesota didn't gain or lose any districts, Kennedy's 2nd district—a monstrous 28-county district stretching from the southwestern corner of the state to the fringes of the Twin Cities—was dismantled. Its territory was split up among four neighboring districts. Kennedy's home outside Watertown was located just inside the reconfigured 6th district, in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities.

In 2002, Kennedy initially expected to face the 6th district's three-term Democratic incumbent, Rep. Bill Luther. However, the new 6th was somewhat more Republican than its predecessor, and Luther opted to move to the reconfigured 2nd district, where he eventually lost to John Kline. Thus, Kennedy instead faced Janet Robert, a lawyer and long-time Democratic activist. In one of the most expensive congressional races in Minnesota history, Kennedy was re-elected with 57% of the vote.

In 2004, Kennedy faced child safety advocate Patty Wetterling. Kennedy received 54% percent of the popular vote to Wetterling's 46%.

2006 U.S. Senate election

Kennedy did not seek re-election to the House in 2006.

Instead, Kennedy ran against DFL nominee and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by DFL incumbent Sen. Mark Dayton. Also in the race were: the Independence Party nominee, Robert Fitzgerald; the Green Party nominee, Michael Cavlan; and the Constitution Party nominee, Ben Powers.

Klobuchar won the election, receiving 58% of the vote to Kennedy's 38%.

Political views

Kennedy's support of the proposed surge in the Iraq War during the 2006 Senate election was described as "bold and smart" on the Brit Hume show on Fox News (Fox News, Brit Hume Show, 12-27-06). Anderson Cooper, an anchor on CNN, said that "Kennedy doesn't ignore the elephant in the room, to the contrary, he looks it straight in the eye" (CNN, Anderson Cooper 360°, 10-25-06).

A proponent of free trade, Kennedy voted in favor of in giving the President fast-track authority and of the Central America Free Trade Agreement.^[2]

In Congress, Kennedy supported the Bush tax cuts, he voted for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan,^[3] and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.^[4] Kennedy's reputation as a reformer was further enhanced by his sponsorship of the line item veto,^[5] a lifetime ban on all members of Congress becoming lobbyists,^[6] full deductibility of medical expenses,^[7] no parole for sex offenders,^[8] and Medicare Plan Enrollment Fraud Protection.^[9]

Kennedy's record of bipartisanship included partnering with twenty Democrats to lead legislation and having more than half the Democrats in the House co-sponsor bills he introduced. Such bills included authoring:

• the Teachers for Tomorrow's Careers Act with Democratic Rep. Rush Holt from New Jersey,^[10]
• the Fair Care for the Uninsured Act with Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski from Illinois,^[11][12]
• the Rural Access to Emergency Services Act with Democratic Rep. Earl Pomeroy from North Dakota,^[13]
• the Clean Alternatives for Energy Independence Act with Democratic Rep. Mark Udall from Colorado,^[14]
• the Emergency Wetlands Loan Act with Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson from California,^[15]
• the Child Support Enforcement Act with Democratic Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald from California,^[16] and,
• the SLAM Act (to increase penalties on those who traffic and sell methamphetamines) with Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley from Oregon^[17]

Kennedy refers to himself as "100% pro-life". He voted in favor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and he voted to sustain President Bush's veto on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005.^[2]

Community activities

In 2007, Kennedy was appointed to the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiation (ACTPN).^[18] ACTPN, a part of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, considers trade policy issues in the context of overall national interest.

In 2008, Kennedy, along with former Reps. Tim Penny and Bill Frenzel from Minnesota, founded the Economic Club of Minnesota (ECOM),^[19] a nonpartisan platform for national and international leaders in business, government, and public policy to present their ideas on how Minnesota can better compete in an increasingly globalized economy.

In 2008, he established the Frontiers of Freedom Lecture Series at the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy at his alma mater, St. John's University.

Kennedy became a member of the Economic Club of Washington in 2013 and Chatham House in 2014.

In 2015, Kennedy was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Employment

From 2007–10 Kennedy served as the Global Retail Business Development Lead for Accenture, a global management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services firm. In 2010, he formed Chartwell Strategic Advisors LLC. Kennedy's activities through Chartwell include speaking on applying 360° Vision to bridge differences between business and society; the political left and right; the United States and the world.

From 2011–13 Kennedy served as an Executive in Residence at Johns Hopkins University's Carey Business School in Baltimore, Maryland, teaching MBA courses on Corporate Statesmanship, Global Economic Systems, as well as global immersion courses in Brazil and Turkey.

In January 2012, Kennedy accepted the position of Director and Professor at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.^[20] During his tenure, the school launched two new master's programs—one in Spanish with a Latin American focus and one focused on advocacy in the global environment.^[21] During Kennedy's tenure, the school was designated as the PR Education Program of the Year by PR Week.^[22]

Since 2012, Kennedy has also been an adjunct faculty member at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Kennedy introduced the concept of "Shapeholders" to the field of business strategy—the political, regulatory, media, and activist actors that shape a firm's opportunities and risks. Kennedy teaches how to effectively engage shapeholders both at home and abroad to profitably advance business strategies while benefiting society.

Presidency of the University of North Dakota (2016–present)

On March 15, 2016, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education announced that Kennedy had been selected as the twelfth President of the University of North Dakota.^[23] Kennedy, who had filed his application on January 2, 2016, was in February of that year the third of six finalists to visit the University.^[24] Kennedy succeeded president Robert Kelley, who retired in January 2016, and Ed Schafer, who served as interim President until Kennedy assumed office on July 1.^[25] He was inaugurated on October 10, 2016.^[26]

Notable achievements by UND during Kennedy's tenure include being ranked by U.S. News as one of the 25 Most Innovative Schools^[27] and being awarded the 2017 Big Sky Conference Presidents' Cup for outstanding student-athlete academic achievement while winning four conference championships in one year.^[28]

On May 9, 2017, Kennedy's book, Shapeholders: Business Success in the Age of Activism, was published by Columbia Business School while he was President of the University of North Dakota.^[29]