By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University’s Kentucky Heartland Institute
on Public Policy will feature discussions on America’s fiscal straits, presidential politics and an analysis of the 2008 election during CU’s fall semester.
“We have an exciting group of highly intellectual people who will lead the discussions for KHIPP in the fall,” said John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, who is the KHIPP founder.
“Discussion will be lively and open, and we invite everyone to attend,” he said.
The first session is Tuesday, Sept. 30 when “The Stark Realities of America’s Fiscal Straits” will be discussed at 6:30 p.m. in the Little Auditorium of the Student Union Building.
Phillip R. Smith, national political director of the Concord Coalition in Washington, D.C., has been invited to speak.
The Concord Coalition is a nationwide, non-partisan, grassroots organization advocating generationally responsible fiscal policy. The Concord Coalition was founded in 1992 by the late former Senator Paul Tsongas (D-Mass.), former Senator Warren Rudman (R-N.H.), and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson.
The Concord Coalition is dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, the long-term challenges facing America’s unsustainable entitlement programs, and how to build a sound economy for future generations.
“Presidential Politics 2008” is the topic for the Thursday, Oct. 23 KHIPP event.
Invited guests include: the Hon. Jack Conway, Kentucky’s Attorney General, native of Louisville, and graduate of National Law Center at George Washington University; the Hon. Trey Grayson, Kentucky’s Secretary of State, fifth generation Kentuckian and lifelong resident of Northern Kentucky; Dr. Wendy Benningfield, associate professor of history at Campbellsville University, and Max Wise, assistant professor of political science at Campbellsville University.
This event will be at 5 p.m. in the Little Auditorium.
On Thursday, Nov. 6, Dr. Doug Bandow, Bastiat Scholar in Free Enterprise, Competitive Enterprise Institute, will discuss “Analysis of the 2008 Election Cycle and Future Implications,” at 5 p.m. in the Little Auditorium.
Bandow is vice president for policy, Citizen Outreach; Robert A. Taft Fellow, American Conservative Defense Alliance; and Cobden Fellow in International Economics, Institute for Policy Invocation.
Chowning said, “Campbellsville University, a church-related institution located in South Central Kentucky, has established a public policy institute that will primarily focus its attention on facilitating public policy study and issues debate, while encouraging the involvement of Christian leaders in the public and civic arenas.”
He said a wide range of public issues will be studied and presented by the Institute for the purposes of “engaging Campbellsville University students, faculty and staff, and the general public, in a greater awareness and understanding of the myriad issues confronting our culture.”
Chowning said KHIPP is committed to preparing Christian civic and political leaders for the 21st century.
“A greater awareness of the public policy process and understanding of the numerous issues being debated in our nation is essential for the citizenry as a whole,” he said.
“The Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy invites you, the concerned citizen and student of the American political process, to attend one or more events to be presented this fall on the campus of Campbellsville University. All events are free and open to the public,” Chowning said.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,405 students who represent 98 Kentucky counties, 25 states and 36 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South and eighth in the South for “Great Schools, Great Prices.” CU has been ranked 15 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.