Date: Sep 22, 2008

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and President of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass "What Will the Next President Do? Identifying the U.S. Agenda for 2009"

Thursday, October 2, 2008, at 12:45 p.m.; John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus; Part of Educate '08 Series

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and President of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass will discuss “What Will the Next President Do? Identifying the U.S. Agenda for 2009,” on Thursday, October 2, 2008, from 12:45 to 2:10 p.m. at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse, South Campus. The event is part of Hofstra University’s Educate ’08 series leading up to the October 15 presidential debate at Hofstra and the presidential election.

This event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. To register or for more information visit www.hofstra.edu/Educate08, or call the Hofstra Cultural Center at (516) 463-5669.

Hofstra’s Educate ’08 series is presented by The Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, The John D. Miller Fund at the Long Island Community Foundation and Sondra and David S. Mack, with additional support by Newsday, The New York Sun and The New York Observer. This event is also sponsored by the Hofstra Cultural Center.

About the panelists:

Mario Cuomo was the longest serving Democratic governor in the modern history of New York State.  He was elected NewYork State’s 52nd Governor in 1982 and twice won re-election, setting records for popularity in both contests.  Beginning with his widely admired keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and his celebrated speech on the relationship of religion and politics at Notre Dame, he has helped define the progressive political landscape for two decades.

Governor Cuomo steered New York state through two recessions, balanced 12 consecutive budgets, created more than half a million jobs, and led the state through two national recessions. He launched the largest economic development initiative in New York history, spurring private sector growth through billions of dollars of public investment in infrastructure enhancements and the creation of an unparalleled network of high-tech research facilities. During Cuomo’s tenure, foreign investment in New York almost doubled and thousands of new export opportunities were created for New York firms. He furthered the national debate on economic policy and trends through the findings of the Cuomo Commission on Trade and Competitiveness – The Cuomo Commission Report (1988) and America's Agenda:  Rebuilding Economic Strength (1992).

Governor Cuomo also enhanced New York’s reputation as a leader in socially progressive legislation. He created the country’s most extensive drug treatment network, its largest program of housing assistance for the homeless, a nationally recognized plan for AIDS prevention and treatment, and tough but constructive new approaches to criminal justice, particularly in the area of drug-related crime. Cuomo also launched Child Health-Plus and the Children’s Assistance Program, America's first real alternatives to welfare reform later used as models for Federal welfare programs.  He also initiated a revolutionary 10-year commitment to New York's children called “The Decade of the Child.”

His record was defined by enlightened innovation, instituting first-in-the-nation laws on everything from seat belt use to acid rain controls, the state's first significant ethics laws for public officials, the law requiring the application of generally accepted accounting principles to the state’s budget and the first state statute requiring regular and independent audits of all executive agencies, including the Comptroller’s Office, the State Inspector General’s Office, and his own Office of the Governor. The Seat Belt Law has since been adopted by every state in the Union and has proven to have saved thousands of lives. 

Having designated a total of 112 judges, Governor Cuomo also set a new standard for both diversity and judicial achievement on the state's highest court, appointing all seven members of New York's highly regarded Court of Appeals, including the first and second women judges, the first black, the first Hispanic and the first woman to serve as Chief Judge.

Since leaving public office, Governor Cuomo has returned to the practice of law, as a Partner and now Of Counsel in the New York office of the international firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, advising public companies, boards of directors and audit committees on issues of corporate governance and financial reporting, and has engaged in a broader practice specializing in national and international corporate law. He continues to pursue his wide-ranging interest in public policy, writing and appearing as a guest commentator on radio. 

Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he has held since July 2003. The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

Dr. Haass is the author or editor of 10 books on American foreign policy. His most recent book, The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course, was published by Public Affairs. He is also the author of one book on management: The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur: How to Be Effective in Any Unruly Organization.

From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Richard Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and was the lead U.S. government official in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. For his efforts, he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award.

Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H. W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981-85) and Defense (1979-80) and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. Dr. Haass also was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, the Sol M. Linowitz visiting professor of international studies at Hamilton College, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.