NEWS RELEASE
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| Dr. Walter Broadnax |
Walter D. Broadnax, Ph.D., will be the featured speaker in Park University's annual Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann Distinguished Guest Lecture Series. Broadnax, distinguished professor of public administration at the Maxwell School of Syracuse (N.Y.) University, will lecture on the topic, "Leadership Challenges for the Presidency: A World of Opportunities and Hazards," on Wednesday, April 4, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the Helzberg Room of the Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.
Broadnax will examine the institution of the presidency and will explore the following questions:
• Does presidential leadership exist?
• What is the current state of executive power?
• What are the lingering effects of the current financial crisis on the presidency?
• What are the prospects for the 2012 presidential election?
Broadnax previously was president of Clark Atlanta (Ga.) University and served as dean of the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., and as professor of public policy and management at the University of Maryland, where he also directed the Bureau of Governmental Research. From 1981 to 1987, Broadnax was a faculty member at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and from 1993 to 1996, was the deputy secretary and chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"Since its inception in 1993, the Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann Distinguished Guest Lecture Series has featured outstanding scholars. Walter Broadnax is a nationally and internationally known scholar and accomplished speaker in the field of public policy and management," said Erik Bergrud, senior director for community and government relations at Park. "The fact that he also brings extensive firsthand experience, both as a United States deputy cabinet secretary and as a university president, will add an important element to his lecture on leadership challenges for the presidency."
Bergrud said Broadnax's ties to the Midwest will make his lecture even more significant.
"Walter grew up in Kansas and attended both Washburn University and the University of Kansas," Bergrud said. "When he accepted our invitation to deliver this lecture, he viewed it as a homecoming. I can think of no other individual better suited to deliver the 20th lecture in this signature series."
The event, which is free and open to the public, is named in honor of the late Park University professor emeritus of political science and public administration. Hauptmann taught at Park University for more than 50 years, and he launched Park's first graduate degree program in 1982. In 2001, Park's School for Public Affairs was renamed the Hauptmann School for Public Affairs in honor of this remarkable educator.
The Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann Distinguished Guest Lecture Series was established through the generosity of alumni, colleagues and friends of Hauptmann upon his 40th anniversary at Park University. The Lecture Series brings outstanding scholars to the Kansas City area to address topics related to Hauptmann’s three areas of study: international politics, public administration and democracy.
For early registration, call Kecia Holland, administrative secretary at Park's Hauptmann School for Public Affairs, at (816) 559-5646. After March 26, register at the Kansas City Public Library website, www.kclibrary.org. For more information about the lecture, co-sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library and the Mid-America Regional Council, visit www.park.edu/grad/lecture.aspx.
