Bethine
Church, Chair of the Frank Church Institute, announced today
that George McGovern, a former U.S. senator, ambassador and
presidential nominee, will be the keynote speaker at the 21st
annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs at Boise
State University in Boise, Idaho.
This year’s conference, titled “The American Presidency:
Principled Leadership in a Time of Turbulence,” will be held
from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 6 in the BSU Student Union Jordan
Ballroom. McGovern will speak at 7 p.m. that evening. The
conference and address are free and the public is invited to
attend.
“George McGovern continues to have a long and distinguished
career in public service,” Church said, “and he brings a
lifetime of achievement to this year’s conference. George
and
Frank were close friends and colleagues in the Senate, and
he and his wife, Eleanor, remain my dear friends. We are
fortunate to have him agree to speak.”
Senator McGovern served three terms in the U.S. Senate from
South Dakota from 1962-1980. Previously, President John F.
Kennedy named him as the first director of the Food for
Peace Program. In 1972, McGovern was selected as the
Democratic Party Presidential nominee. After leaving the
Senate, he was a visiting professor at numerous universities
and served as the president of the Middle East Policy
Council. In 1998, President Bill Clinton appointed him as
ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agricultural
Organization in Rome. In 2001, he was appointed the first
U.N. global ambassador on hunger, where he continues to
serve.
A prolific author, McGovern has lectured at more than 1,000
colleges and universities around the world. He holds a
doctorate degree in American history and government from
Northwestern University, and he has received numerous
honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian
honor. His most recent book is titled The Essential
America: Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition.
This year’s Frank Church Conference is presented in
partnership with the Idaho Council for History Education and
the Boise Independent School District Conference on the
American Presidency, Oct. 7 and 8 at Boise High School.
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Contact: Garry Wenske, Executive Director, Frank
Church Institute, (208) 426-2942,
GarryWenske@boisestate.edu
Media Contact:
Kathleen
Craven, communications and marketing, (208) 426-3275,
kcraven@boisestate.edu
