FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar will headline the 2014 Bulen Symposium on American Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
The symposium will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, in Room 450 of the IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd. It is presented by the Department of Political Science in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI.
Lugar will present the keynote address at 1 p.m. Friday. The distinguished scholar and professor of practice at the IU Bloomington School of Global and International Studies, will join a roster of academics, media and political party representatives to examine the impact of midterm election results, including the presidential agenda for the next two years and the 2016 race for the White House.
“Senator Lugar is one of the most respected politicians of the last half century, not just in Indiana but across the country,” said professor Aaron Dusso, co-chair of the symposium. “Any opportunity to hear him speak in our hometown of Indianapolis is a wonderful thing. We like to think of the Bulen Symposium as one of Indiana’s premier post-election discussion forums and believe there are few people who can bring as much insight to the process as Senator Lugar.”
Midterm congressional elections are traditionally viewed as a referendum of the sitting president. With the Senate potentially up for grabs and the 2016 presidential election lurking around the corner, the implications of this November’s elections can hardly be understated.
In addition to Lugar, panelists who will assess the impact of the November midterm elections include:
- Tim Berry, chairman, Indiana Republican Party
- John Zody, chairman, Indiana Democratic Party
- Tony Cook, Statehouse reporter, The Indianapolis Star
- Amber Stearns, news editor, Nuvo
- Lesley Weidenbener, executive editor, The Statehouse File
- Jeffery Mondak, professor of political science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Edward Burmila, assistant professor of political science, Bradley University
“When putting together the Bulen program, we focus on bringing together as many different perspectives on the process as possible,” Dusso said.
Lugar, who will present the symposium’s afternoon keynote, spent 36 years in the United States Senate, where he focused on issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, energy, agriculture and free trade. Before being elected to the Senate, Lugar was a two-term Indianapolis mayor. He is currently the president of the Lugar Center, a nonprofit organization that continues the work he focused on in the Senate.
The Bulen Symposium on American Politics is named for L. Keith Bulen, who personified political leadership in Indiana and beyond for three decades. He served twice in elective office and served three presidents in major appointive posts. Bulen is best remembered for his innovative management of major political campaigns, his leadership in revitalizing the Indiana Republican Party and his unwavering commitment to the American two-party framework.
For the symposium event schedule and further information visit the symposium website.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required by Nov. 12.