Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

NYT Reporter, Lobbyist in Store for Lecture Fund

Students may get to see former President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) back on campus this fall as part of the Georgetown Lecture Fund’s 2013-2014 season.

After a series last year that brought Afghan President Hamid Karzai, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U2 frontman Bono to campus, the Lecture Fund is looking to build on last year’s success.

Lecture Fund Chair Chris Mulrooney (COL ’14) said that in addition to political speakers that the group often brings to campus, members hoping to expand the club’s focus and bring more non-political guests to campus.

While many Lecture Fund events are still in the planning stages, students can look forward to seeing several high-profile speakers in October alone. Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff will speak Wednesday, followed by social policy think tank executive director Shireen Zaman on Oct. 16, and Politico Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen and New York Times Chief National Correspondent Mark Leibovich on Oct. 22.

Though many of these guests are bound to draw big crowds, many students are eager to learn when former President Bill Clinton will return to campus for the second part of his lecture series. In April, Clinton kicked off his four-part lecture series about his vision for the United States.

“While the Lecture Fund hasn’t confirmed with former President Clinton when he will be coming back to Georgetown, we anticipate that it will be sometime this semester,” Mulrooney said.

The Lecture Fund will also co-sponsor TEDx Georgetown, an independently organized branch of the global set of conferences in its third year on campus.

With this year’s theme, “Changemakers,” TEDx will make the move from Lohrfink Auditorium to Gaston Hall. University President John J. DeGioia is set to hold the panel discussion event Oct. 26.

“Though we can’t yet release the names of our speakers, this year’s TEDx Georgetown event is going to be more Georgetown-centric, as we will receive input from faculty, and other prominent officials associated with the Georgetown community, in order to make it hit home with a great number of students,” Mulrooney said.

The Lecture Fund works with other campus organizations, such as GU Pride, the Kalmanovitz Initiative and MAGIS Row, to plan and sponsor events. Last week’s kickoff lecture with President Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau was co-sponsored by the College Democrats.

While the Lecture Fund works with the administration to arrange lectures, Lecture Fund Vice Chair of Internal Affairs Marcus Stromeyer (SFS ’15) emphasized that it is primarily student run.

“The Lecture Fund works with the Georgetown University Programming Board and the University Office of Communications to get approval for speakers, and to discuss logistics,” Stromeyer said. “This is almost all a student-run process, from contract negotiations to ushering the events.”

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