DePauw News Archive

David Gergen to open 1998 Ubben Lecture Series at DePauw University

October 1, 1998

David Gergen, adviser to four American presidents, will be the first speaker in the 1998 Ubben Lecture Series at DePauw University. Gergen will speak at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, in East College, Meharry Hall.

Gergen's career as presidential adviser spans the administrations of Richard Nixon through Bill Clinton. He began in 1971 as a speech writer in the Nixon White House. After Nixon's resignation, he served as special counsel to President Gerald Ford. During the Reagan administration, he acted as staff director to organize all communications operations from 1981 to 1984.

Most recently, Gergen was asked by President Clinton to act as White House counselor. He served in that capacity for a year and then was asked to serve for six months as a special adviser to the president and secretary of state on foreign policy.

Gergen is also a respected journalist and political commentator. Currently editor-at-large at U.S. New & World Report and regular commentator on the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer, he worked primarily as a journalist and editorial writer from 1984 to 1993.

Gergen has also taught and lectured as a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D. C., and at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1995 he became a visiting professor at Duke University, where he teaches a course on the modern presidency.

Gergen will be the first of four lecturers invited this year to speak at DePauw on the topic of "Ethics and Morality in Leadership." From his close association with four presidential administrations, he will provide insights on the characteristics - both the ideal and actual - of the individuals who have led the free world for the last quarter of the 20th century. The second speaker of the series will be former U. S. Senator Alan K. Simpson, currently director of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

The Ubben Lecture Series began in 1986 through the generous support of Timothy and Sharon Ubben. Each year, the series brings speakers of international and national stature to DePauw to speak on the issues of our times. All Ubben lectures are free and open to the public.