On Oct. 28, Boise State University’s Frank Church Institute will host its 33rd annual Frank Church Conference on public affairs. The conference will run from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Student Union Building’s Simplot Ballroom and will focus on the upcoming November elections with the theme “Politics and Prose: America Votes.”
The conference is free and open to all students and the public.
Keynote speakers will include former U.S. Representatives Martin Frost (D-Texas) and Tom Davis (R-Virginia), chairmen of the Democratic and Republican campaign committees, respectively. The congressmen, who co-authored the book “The Partisan Divide,” will speak on a panel moderated by former U.S. Rep. Larry LaRocco (D-Idaho).
Other speakers include Todd Cranney, a partner in Riverwood Strategies who served as national deputy political director of Romney for President; and John Engber, principal of John Engber and Associates, who will sit on a panel moderated by Justin Vaughn, Boise State associate professor of political science.
Also speaking will be Cornell Clayton, director of Washington State University’s Thomas Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service; and David Adler, director of the Alturas Institute, an Idaho-based nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civic education, civic engagement and civil discourse.
For more information about the conference, please visit:https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-frankchurchinstitute/
The Frank Church Institute was established in 1982 as the Frank Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University to honor the achievements and to carry forward the principles of one of Idaho’s most distinguished native sons, U.S. Sen. Frank Church.
The institute, which is housed within the School of Public Service at Boise State University, emphasizes to its students those ideas which the senator held dear – a strong belief in the rule of law, eloquence firmly based on reason, and an unwavering faith in the American political system.
The institute’s mission is to “promote civic engagement and understanding of public policy with focus on foreign relations.” The institute is non-partisan. It seeks to “provide a forum for open and informed discussion characterized by civility, tolerance and compromise.” The institute fulfills its mission through the sponsorship of the annual Frank Church Conference, the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs, and the Frank Church Scholarships at Boise State University.