Conference on Obama legacy planned at Mount Union

Staff report

ALLIANCE

The Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Mount Union, in conjunction with The Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron, will host “The Barack Obama Presidency: Legacy and Record” conference March 10-11 at the university.

The conference will feature 30 presentations with scholars from 26 different institutions from across the nation.

It also will feature guest speakers focusing on different aspects of Obama’s tenure.

The invited speakers:

Jenna Brayton, White House associate director of content for the Office of Digital Strategy.

Don Gonyea, NPR national political correspondent.

Zack Space, former U.S. representative for Ohio’s 18th congressional district.

Ambassador (ret.) David Swartz, former ambassador and first U.S. envoy to the Republic of Belarus.

Chuck Todd, NBC News political director and host of “Meet the Press,” will be featured as the Schooler Lecture speaker at 8 p.m. March 10 in the Timken Gymnasium in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

For information on tickets, email alumni@mountunion.edu. Todd also will have a book signing from 4:30 to 5 p.m. in the Gallaher Theater in the Giese Center.

The conference is slated to begin at 8 a.m. March 10. Presentations will occur in three blocks throughout the day beginning at 9 a.m.

The schedule for March 11 has panels occurring in four blocks, with the first beginning at 8 a.m. and the day concluding at 5:30 p.m.

Brayton and Swartz will be featured as part of a roundtable session, and the scheduled moderator will be Ron Ponder from News-Talk 1480 WHBC, beginning at 12:45 p.m. that day.

All the panels and roundtable discussions are free and open to the public throughout both days. The events March 10 will take place in the Giese Center for Performing Arts, and the events March 11 will take place in the Hoover-Price Campus Center on Mount Union’s campus.

The luncheons featuring presentations by Gonyea and Space will be ticketed events. For information on luncheon ticket pricing, contact Michael Grossman, associate professor of political science and international studies at Mount Union, at grossmmo@mountunion.edu. Seating space is limited for both luncheons and will be first-come, first-served for tickets. No refunds will be given after Saturday.

For details on the conference, visit http://raider.mountunion.edu/~grossmmo/obama.htm.