Election 2000 Focus Of Political Science Conference Oct. 17-18

The U.S. presidential election is just 29 days away, and many issues could be affected by its outcome. Baylor University's department of political science will discuss various aspects of not only the presidential race but state races as well during "Election 2000: Decisions and Consequences." The two-day conference will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 17-18, on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Building on the Baylor campus.
"The conference will provide a wonderful opportunity for students and the people of central Texas to come and get involved in the political process," said Dr. James Curry, chair of the political science department. "We are very fortunate that we will be able to assemble this many election scholars and experts in political campaigns in one place this close to the election."
The conference will bring together academicians, practitioners and elected officials in a series of panels and roundtable discussions concerning the dynamics and significance of the upcoming 2000 election. Panels will be organized around specific topics related to the election, including the media and campaigns, the post-Clinton presidency, the Supreme Court and election 2000, foreign policy issues, who votes and why, domestic policy issues and Congressional and state legislative elections. Panels will begin at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 17 and at 8 a.m. Oct. 18. The conference will conclude at noon Oct. 18.
Dr. Thomas Mann, the W. Averell Harriman Senior Fellow in American Governance at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., will deliver the keynote address at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and will participate in a roundtable discussion on the presidency after election 2000. Mann, a frequent guest on such public broadcasting programs as the "News Hour with Jim Lehrer," is a renowned expert on American politics.
Additional participants include Dr. Roderick Hart, Shivers Chair in Communication and professor of government at the University of Texas; Dave McNeely, political columnist for the "Austin American Statesman"; Texas State Senator David Sibley; Dr. George C. Edwards III, Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Presidential Studies at the Bush School of Texas A&M University; and Dr. Mary Volcansek, dean of the Add Ran College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Texas Christian University, among others.
Except for the keynote address, there is no charge to attend the conference. For more information, contact the Baylor political science department at (254) 710-3161.