A senior adviser to President Barack Obama will be giving a lecture tonight at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln about civility in public service.
David Axelrod will speak at 8 p.m. at the Nebraska Champions Club, two hours later than the lecture was initially scheduled.
The lecture, which is hosted by the political science department and the College of Arts and Sciences, is free and open to the public. The doors open at 7 p.m., and overflow seating will be available on the lower level of the Champions Club as well as the Van Brunt Visitors Center.
The lecture will be 20-30 minutes and address the importance of civility in public service, said Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, political science chairwoman. A 30-minute question and answer session will follow.
Axelrod is currently a senior adviser to Obama and worked on his campaign as a senior strategist and as a senior adviser to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition. The New York Times called Axelrod Obama's "political protector."
"He is a very trusted adviser," Theiss-Morse said. "It's likely Obama talks with him a lot."
Prior to entering politics, Axelrod spent eight years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, where he became the youngest political writer and columnist in the Tribune's history in 1981. In 1984, he entered politics and became senior partner at the consulting firm AKPD Message and Media in Chicago in 1988.
In 2004, Axelrod helped Obama, who was then a member of the Illinois State Senate, to defeat a primary field of six other Democrats and win in his senate campaign. He ran the independent expenditure media program in 2006 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as served as media adviser to Deval Patrick that same year. Patrick was elected Massachusetts' first Democratic governor in 16 years and was the state's first black governor.
"In political history, there are a handful of amazing advisers," Theiss-Morse said. "I think Axelrod falls into that category."
Axelrod has also been involved with various charity organizations. He founded Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy with his wife. Since its founding in 1998, the organization has raised more than $9 million for scientists researching for a cure. He has also supported Special Olympics and Misericordia, which provides programs to people with mild to profound developmental disabilities.
"(Those attending) will be able to hear from this person who has had an amazing role in politics but also in volunteering," Theiss-Morse said.
The lecture is the second speech as part of the Peter J. Hoagland Integrity in Public Service Lecture Series, which began last year, said Robb Crouch, director of public relations for the University of Nebraska Foundation. The lectures are held annually and alternate between UNL and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The first lecture was at UNO and was given by Ted Sorensen, who was one of John F. Kennedy's advisers. The lecture series was created in memory of Hoagland, a Nebraska congressman who died in 2007. It was created as a gift by Jim Crounse, a UNL graduate and Hoagland's friend and former chief-of-staff.
The Champions Club is located west of Memorial Stadium on Stadium Drive and Vine Street. The facility can hold about 500 people.
The speech will also be live-streamed on the UNL Web site. Those who do not arrive on time to get seats in the main floor will be directed to the garden level of the Club or to the Visitors Center, which will show the speech on large-screen televisions.
Theiss-Morse hopes students will attend to hear from what she calls a "major political figure."
"It's just an incredible opportunity," Theiss-Morse said. "He has had an impact as an individual and a real desire to make a difference. I think students will enjoy the lecture."
paigecornwell@dailynebraskan.com
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