KU News Release

Panel of former governors to discuss politics and policy at KU’s Dole Institute

LAWRENCE — The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will host a “Governors Roundtable” with the former leaders of Missouri, Mississippi and West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19. The program is free and open to the public.

Former Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, this semester’s Democratic fellow at the Dole Institute, will moderate a discussion with Gov. Ronnie Musgrove of Mississippi and Gov. Bob Wise of West Virginia. They will discuss the interplay of politics and policy in crises they have faced.

Musgrove and Wise will also participate in Holden’s afternoon study group at 4 p.m. at the institute. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will also attend the afternoon session.

As governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2004, Musgrove focused on improving access to health care, strengthening the education system and revamping the state’s economic development strategies. He will discuss Mississippi’s emergency planning prior to Hurricane Katrina. Today, he is an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson.

During his stint as governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005, Wise pursued legislation to fund the PROMISE Scholarship Program to help West Virginian students attend college in their own state, proposed salary bonuses for teachers, which helped triple the rate of certified teachers in the state, and was the first West Virginian to chair the Southern Governors Association.

As governor of Missouri, Holden focused on economic development. During his 2001-05 term, Missouri ranked among the top 10 states in job creation and led the nation in development and use of tax credits to promote historic building rehabilitation. Holden also supported public health care programs for Missouri children, secured increased funding for schools and enacted a program to help Missouri’s elderly citizens purchase prescription drugs (the first such state program).

The Dole Institute of Politics is dedicated to promoting public service, civic engagement and politics. It is located on KU’s west campus, next to the Lied Center.

-30-

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.