The Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi will host notable figures in national politics and journalism to discuss the 2016 presidential race.
OXFORD, Miss. – The Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi will host Tom Brokaw, former Gov. Haley Barbour and a Mississippian who ran Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, among other notables, for spirited political reactions to Monday’s presidential debate.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 27) at the Overby Center, Stuart Stevens, who managed Romney’s presidential campaign, hosts “A Critical Eye on the Campaign.” Tom Brokaw, longtime NBC correspondent and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor; Andy Lack, president of NBC News; and political notables Barbour and Harold Ford Jr., former Democratic congressman from Memphis, will participate in a discussion titled “Election Countdown” at 6 p.m. Friday (Sept. 30) at Nutt Auditorium.
The two events are part of the Overby Center’s fall series lineup. Overby fellow Curtis Wilkie notes this week’s panels are perfectly timed since the first presidential debate of 2016 is set for 8 p.m. Monday at Hofstra University.
“This may be the best lineup of programs we’ve had in the 10-year history of the Overby Center,” Wilkie said. “Coming on the same week as the first presidential debate, we hope the programs will bring some of the political drama back to Oxford that we enjoyed in 2008 when Ole Miss hosted the first presidential debate.”
Stevens, a Jackson native, has been a force in GOP politics for decades. In addition to leading Romney’s 2012 efforts, he’s managed senate and gubernatorial campaigns and was involved in President George W. Bush’s campaign. He’s offered sometimes biting commentary on Republican nominee Donald Trump’s candidacy in some of his frequent national TV appearances.
Two years ago, “The Last Season,” Stevens’ affectionate book about attending Ole Miss football games with his aging father, was released. Stevens has released a new novel about a political insider; “The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear” is available in bookstores.
Lack and Brokaw are no strangers to Ole Miss. Lack, who has ancestors from Greenville, is one of the founders of Mississippi Today, an online news source launched earlier this year that is also cosponsor of the event. He is a strong supporter of UM’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media.
Brokaw, one of the best-known faces on TV, was UM’s 2016 Commencement speaker. He first came to Ole Miss 16 years ago – for a friend’s birthday party in connection with an Ole Miss game – and he and members of his family have returned repeatedly over the years.
Barbour, a two-term governor of Mississippi, remains one of the dominant figures on the national GOP scene. Before winning office in 2003, he served as national chairman of the party and worked in President Ronald Reagan’s White House. He is a lobbyist in Washington and Jackson.
Ford, a member of the most prominent Democratic family in Memphis, served five terms in Congress. Though he works on Wall Street, Ford – like Barbour – still holds major clout in his party and often appears as a guest commentator on national TV programs.
The fall series began Sept. 16 with an appearance by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Other events on the schedule will feature discussions on the civil rights movement, UM students who worked on projects in Africa and also among Mississippi’s Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, and other topics.
Here’s a rundown of the remaining Overby fall series events:
– Oct. 11, 6 p.m. – “Mississippi Freelance” an irreverent monthly that poked fun at Mississippi politicians and exposed many irregularities 50 years ago, will be fondly remembered by its founders, Lew Powell and Ed Williams, Ole Miss graduates who went on to careers at the Charlotte Observer.
– Oct. 14, 9 a.m. – “The Embassy,” a new book about earlier turmoil in Liberia, will be discussed by its author, Dante Paradiso, an American Foreign Service officer posted to its capital, Monrovia, at the time.
– Oct. 19, 8 p.m. – “The Last Debate” will be shown on the Overby Center screen, to be followed by a public discussion.
– Oct. 27, 2:30 p.m. – “Mississippi Indians” will be discussed by Overby fellow Bill Rose and students on his team in the latest in-depth reporting assignment, an annual course that has produced a series of prize-winning magazines.
– Nov. 1, 6 p.m. – “The March Against Fear,” James Meredith’s idea that led to an assassination attempt on him and a fractious finish by competing civil rights leaders in 1966, will be recalled on its 50th anniversary by Aram Goudsouzian, author of “Down to the Crossroads” a book about the march, UM political science professor Marvin King, Overby and Wilkie.
– Nov. 2, 6 p.m. – “Ole Miss in Africa” will feature UM journalism students who traveled earlier this year to Zimbabwe and Namibia on a photo expedition and study of wildlife management.
– Nov. 15, 6 p.m. – “The Outcome” of the 2016 presidential campaign – and its impact on the future of the two major parties – will be the subject for a final discussion.