Date: Feb 29, 2012

Hofstra University Launches Debate 2012 – Pride, Politics and Policy

Series of Lectures, Academic Programs and Events to Coincide with University Hosting Town-Hall Style Presidential Debate on Oct. 16, 2012

Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y. –   Hofstra University, host of the second 2012 presidential debate later this year, is launching  Debate 2012 – Pride, Politics and Policy – a series of conferences, lectures, events and classes designed to engage and inform the campus community about the election, politics and presidential history.

The programming, which begins today with an address about community service and leadership by Newark Mayor Cory Booker, will bring noted journalists, historians, and political strategists to campus in the weeks and months before Hofstra hosts the town hall-style presidential debate on Oct. 16, 2012.  The University also has launched a Debate 2012 logo and website – www.hofstra.edu/debate.

“Mayor Booker’s message about the power of civic engagement and grassroots activism is a perfect way to begin our Debate 2012 programming, which is all about encouraging students to get involved in the democratic process,” said President Stuart Rabinowitz.

“When the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that Hofstra would have the honor –as we did in 2008 – to host a presidential debate in 2012,” Rabinowitz said, “we pledged to build on the success of our award-winning Educate ’08 initiative of lectures, coursework, events and public programs, to do even more, to involve and inspire even more of our campus to participate in this historic event.”

Among the upcoming Debate 2012 events: journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who broke the Watergate story, on March 20, 2012; CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer on March 29, 2012; and, on April 19, 2012, a symposium sponsored by the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency featuring senior presidential fellows Howard Dean and Ed Rollins that will compare the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In the fall, guest speakers will include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. For more information about upcoming Debate 2012 events go to www.hofstra.edu/debate.

The election-themed event series also offers a variety of courses and activities for students, including the chance to travel to primary sites, volunteer or intern with political or media organizations, participate in the Democratic and Republican conventions or perform in a series of historical vignettes that highlight important moments in U.S. history.

Debate 2012 – Pride, Politics and Policy builds on Hofstra’s unique academic strengths and vibrant academic programs in political science, journalism, mass media, business, medicine and law, as well as the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, the interdisciplinary, the National Center for Suburban Studies and the Center for Civic Engagement, which is sponsoring a series of events called Expressions of Democracy 2012, that includes live performances by our students and professional actors of pivotal historic events.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution of higher education where more than 12,000 full and part-time students choose from undergraduate and graduate offerings in liberal arts and sciences, business, engineering, communication, education, health and human services, honors studies, a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.