The
Holden Public Policy Forum @ Webster University to Bring Nationally-Renowned Speakers to St. Louis Beginning Next Month
St. Louis, Missouri -- Richard S. Meyers, Webster University president, and Bob Holden, former Missouri Governor and Webster University professor, today announced "The Holden Public Policy Forum @ Webster University,' a bi-partisan speakers series that will bring Governors, Senators, presidential candidates and private sector public policy leaders to St. Louis and the Webster University Old Post Office campus.
The series kicks off May 10 with a speech by Governor Mike Huckabee, R-Arkansas, chairman of the National Governors Association, and author. On May 31, New York Times columnist, author and Princeton University economics professor Paul Krugman will be the featured speaker. Other speakers who have made commitments to appear include Senators John Kerry and Joe Biden; House majority whip Congressman Roy Blunt; Governors Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Dr. Charles Inlander, president of the People's Medical Society; Webster University alumna Brigadier General Sheila Baxter, commanding general of the Medical Services Corps; and others to be announced in the near future.
The talks planned in this series will take place in the Missouri Court of Appeals courtroom in the historic Old Post Office in downtown St. Louis. The Old Post Office is both a focus of downtown St. Louis's current redevelopment boom and the site of Webster University's downtown St. Louis campus. The speeches will be free and open to the public, and will be webcast live via the internet to sites around the world, including Webster's more than 100 worldwide campuses.
"When I invite public policy leaders to come and appear in our speaker series," said Gov. Holden, "I tell them that if they have something to say, Webster University is the place to say it because the world will hear. At each of these programs, we will invite interactive discussion both with members of the audience here in St. Louis and with viewers on Webster's campuses from the United States to the United Kingdom and from Amsterdam to Shanghai."
"We are marrying Governor Holden's public policy experience and network of leadership contacts with Webster's global network to produce a truly unique opportunity for meaningful public policy dialogue on a global scale," said President Meyers. "We hope that everyone in St. Louis will be as excited as we are that it is happening here."
The Forum will group its speakers into several series during 2006 and 2007. The "Healthy Futures" series, which will feature Gov. Huckabee, Prof. Krugman, Dr. Inlander and General Baxter, among others, will focus on public health issues facing America and the world in the early 21st century.
A second series called "America's Future" will feature prominent political figures, including leading presidential hopefuls, sharing their respective platforms and views on a broader range of policy issues. Speakers in the "America's Future" series will appear throughout 2007.
"While I am proud of my association with the Democratic party, I am determined that our Forum will offer an equal balance of views from both sides of the political aisle, and I am happy to have some of our area's most prominent Republican leaders working with me to secure premier speakers," Gov. Holden said.
"I am pleased and honored to be a part of The Holden Public Policy Forum @ Webster UNiversity," said Ray Wagner, Jr., legal and legislative vice president for Enterprise Rent-A-Car and former director of the Illinois Department of Revenue and prominent area Republican. "The program promises to be a vigorous discussion of the public policy issues facing our world today."
While the events will be free and open to the public, those wishing to attend must RSVP due to space limitations. Individuals wishing to attend the events may secure their reservations through the Internet at: www.webster.edu/holdenppf. Sponsorship opportunities are currently available. Current donors include: AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, The Deaconess Foundation, Missouri Hospitals Association, Lutheran Foundations of St. LOuis, St. Louis County Economics Council, DFC Group, Pyramid Companies and U. S. Cellular.
