The Fernald State School lies in ruins at the edge of Bentley’s campus but was once a global destination at the forefront of education, policy, medicine, government and even the business of what it means to be disabled in America. The first public institution for the education of people with intellectual disabilities in America, the it moved to Waltham in 1887 where it became world-renowned under the direction of Dr. Walter E. Fernald, an enigmatic figure whose shadow hung over the institution until it closed in 2014 after having held more than 14,000 disabled people within its walls. In this talk, Harvard Kennedy School’s Alex Green will talk about the story found in the ruins of the Fernald School and its implications today, drawn from more than a decade of research and landmark advocacy work.

Alex Green is the author of A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled, which is a finalist for the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award. He also teaches political communications at Harvard’s Kennedy School and is a visiting scholar at Brandeis’ Lurie Institute for Disability Policy.

Sponsored by Departments of Philosophy, History, and Natural & Applied Sciences; Valente Center for Arts & Sciences; Hoffman Center for Business Ethics; and Student Accessibility Services.