Nannerl "Nan" Overholser Keohane (born September 18, 1940, in Blytheville, Arkansas)[1] is an American political theorist and former president of Wellesley College and Duke University.

[2][3] She is now a professor in social sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, where she is researching the theory and practice of leadership in democratic societies.

During her tenure, she was also a professor of political science, led efforts to increase minority student enrollment, diversified faculty, and oversaw the Women's Initiative.

[8] Keohane's books include Thinking about Leadership (2010), Philosophy and the State in France: The Renaissance to the Enlightenment (1980), and Feminist Theory: A Critique of Ideology (1982).

Some of Keohane's speeches were published in 1995 in A Community Worthy of the Name,[1] and more in 2006 in Higher Ground: Ethics and Leadership in the Modern University.

In April 2013, Keohane told Harvard students advocating for climate change divestment that they should instead "Thank BP" for its investment in clean energy.

[25] The comment caused an uproar among Harvard students, leading climate activist Bill McKibben to tweet the following: "Harvard behaving outrageously to divestment campaign, trustee urges students to 'thank BP'[26]" Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) April 10, 2013 [27] Keohane was born in Blytheville, Arkansas, and graduated from high school in Hot Springs, Arkansas.