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Alumni and Friends: La Follette Notes Fall 2004
Board of Visitors connects alumni, students
Political advertising and campaign strategy for the 2004 U.S. presidential election were the key pieces of a rousing panel discussion in Washington, D.C., at the fall meeting of the Board of Visitors for the La Follette School and the Department of Political Science.
Academics, consultants and media experts shared their insights into the race with about 50 alumni, friends, and Board of Visitors members at the Capitol Conference Center overlooking the U.S. Capitol.
Professor Ken Goldstein outlined the work of his national watchdog Wisconsin Advertising Project, including tracking the costs of ads, their frequency and the targeted television audiences (e.g., “Judge Judy” for the John Kerry campaign and “JAG” for the President Bush campaign).
Other presenters included Board of Visitors members (and husband and wife) Robert Barnett and Rita Braver, both political science graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Barnett is a Washington lawyer and longtime Democratic insider. He has served as the practice debate foe for presidential and vice presidential candidates, and this year he played Dick Cheney in rehearsals with John Edwards. Braver, a correspondent for “CBS Sunday Morning,” shared her observations about pack journalism and access.
Also commenting were Professor Graham Wilson, chair of the political science department, and Professor Don Nichols, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs.
Discussions covered which states were key battlegrounds, the future of the Electoral College, strategies for winning rural voters, and the effects of campaign finance law.
Jeff Wendorf of the Wisconsin Alumni Association said the panel discussion and reception beforehand were great opportunities to showcase faculty expertise and bring alumni together for an educational and entertaining evening. It is a model the WAA and the University of Wisconsin Foundation use around the country to connect alumni with the university.
The Board of Visitors re-elected Robert Milbourne of Columbus, Ohio, as board chair and Charles Fischbach of Chicago, as vice-chair. The board agreed to contribute $20,000 to a Director's Fund to offset the cost of travel for faculty members to reach out to alumni and to facilitate development.
The board also heard from Gary Sandefur, the new dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. He touted increased diversity and undergraduate education as two of his major concerns. He welcomed the board's help in achieving those goals, and in supporting research and teaching efforts of the La Follette School and Department of Political Science.
Index to La Follette Notes fall 2004