Former presidential candidate Howard Dean (D-Vt,) was recently added to the fall lineup for the popular Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium.
As Dean is the current chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the Symposium had difficulty scheduling a time for him to speak on campus, according to Publicity Chair senior Jonathan Collins.
"We are very happy that we were able to bring in such a high profile speaker," Collins said.
In the Symposium tradition, Dean's speech will be followed by a question-and-answer session, during which attendees from the Homewood community and beyond are encouraged to challenge the speaker.
"It's one of the few times that we have had an active politician come," Collins said. Dean is being added to a line-up that includes one other active politician, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who will be speaking on Oct. 10. Dean will be speaking the next evening, and actor Danny Glover will be rounding off the three-day stretch of speakers.
In light of the chaotic schedule, the Symposium has recruited the College Democrats to help with the event. "We wouldn't be able to do it without them," Collins said.
Unlike retired politicians such as Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who charged significant fees to speak at last year's symposium, Dean will be speaking free of charge.
"We would like to have everyone on campus come no matter what you think of him," Collins said.
The topic of Dean's speech is, as of yet, unknown.
The Symposium is currently in the process of trying to have the speech broadcast on C-SPAN, as Gingrich's was last year.
Dean has been the chairman of the Democratic National Committee since February 2005, when he replaced Terry McAuliffe. He was a Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, but lost the nomination to John Kerry (D-Mass.. Dean is the former governor of Vermont.
