Date: Mar 18, 2008

David Gergen, Advisor to Four Presidents, to Speak at Hofstra University

Commentator, editor to deliver annual Saltzman Lecture, part of University's Educate '08 initiative

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY –David Gergen, an advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton and a commentator, editor, teacher and best-selling author, will deliver the annual Arnold A. Saltzman Lecture on the State of the Union on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 4 p.m. in the Monroe Lecture Center Theater, California Avenue, South Campus.

Mr. Gergen will speak as part of Educate ’08, Hofstra’s unprecedented educational effort that engages not only students and faculty but also the public in a year-long series of conferences, events and lectures leading up the presidential debate at Hofstra on October 15, 2008. The lecture is sponsored by the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Gergen currently serves as editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report and as a regular television commentator.  He was moderator of World @ Large, a 13-part PBS discussion series for two seasons. He is also a professor of public service at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and is director of its Center for Public Leadership.  In the fall of 2000, he published the best-selling book Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.

Mr. Gergen served as director of communications for President Reagan and held positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford. In 1993, he put his country before politics when he agreed to first serve as counselor to President Clinton on both foreign policy and domestic affairs, then as special international adviser to the president and to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

During 1984 - 1993, Mr. Gergen worked mostly as a journalist.  He was editor of U.S. News for two-and-a-half years. Working with the owner and editor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman and a revived staff, he helped to guide the magazine to record gains in circulation and advertising. 

During that period, he also teamed up with Mark Shields for political commentary every Friday night for five years on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. The two were a popular political team and won numerous accolades for their political coverage.

A native of Durham, North Carolina, he is an honors graduate of Yale University (AB, 1963) and the Harvard Law School (LLB, 1967).  He is a member of the District of Columbia bar.  In addition, he served for three-and-a-half years in the United States Navy, where he was posted for about two years to a ship home-ported in Japan.

Mr. Gergen is active on many non-profit boards and he is chairman of the National Selection Committee for the Innovations in American Government.  He frequently lectures here in the United States and overseas and holds 14 honorary degrees.

The lecture is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Educate '08 is an unprecedented educational effort that engages not only students and faculty but also the public in a year-long series of conferences, events and lectures leading up to the final presidential debate at Hofstra on Oct. 15, 2008. For a complete listing of Educate ’08 events, go to www.hofstra.edu/educate08 .

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 145 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence, cutting edge technology, extensive library resources, internships and special educational programs that appeal to their interests and abilities.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.

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