Free Virtual Event: October 29th @ 7 – 8:30 pm ET

About

Establishing and maintaining trust. This is the core of the communications professionals’ work – and  something we all do. Yet, on an almost daily basis, we see the eroding trust in nearly all of our  institutions (governmental, religious, educational, and more). Who do we believe, who do we  trust? How do we maintain security while building trust? How do we have confidence in the  character, strength, or truth of someone or something? These questions are vital to us and  something to consider as we move forward.  

Join us as former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe leads a lively panel discussion among experts in  communication, news, political science, and security. The event is co-sponsored by the Schar School  of Policy and Government, CommPRO, and the Museum of Public Relations.  

Click here to register for this event. 

Introduction

Mark J. Rozell, Dean 
Schar School of Policy and Government 

Mark J. Rozell is the author of nine books and editor of twenty books on various topics in U.S. government and politics including the presidency, religion and politics, media and politics, and interest groups in elections. 

Moderator

Terry McAuliffe
Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia 
Schar School Distinguished Visiting Professor

Distinguished Visiting Professor Terry McAuliffe brings a lifetime of progressive political experience and successful economic development to the Schar School of Policy and Government classrooms.

As the 72^nd Governor of Virginia (2014-2028), McAuliffe (D) made a record 35 trade missions around the world, creating thousands of jobs and bringing in more than $20 billion in capital investment in the Commonwealth. The unemployment rate dropped from 5.4 percent to 3.6 percent, unemployment claims dropped to a 44-year low and personal income rose 12.3 percent.

While McAuliffe improved Virginia’s competitiveness in the global economy, he also focused on enhancing the quality of life for the Commonwealth’s citizens, assuring that economic opportunity in the diversified economy was a right, not a privilege. McAuliffe protected women’s access to health care, bolstered the public school system, protected the environment, restored voting rights to 173,000 rehabilitated felons, secured bipartisan support for legislation to reduce gun violence and used his executive powers to secure consumer cyber transactions.

McAuliffe entered national politics at age 23 as National Finance Director for President Jimmy Carter. He co-chaired President Bill Clinton’s 1996 campaign for reelection and Clinton’s 1997 Presidential Inauguration. In 2000, he was chairman of the Democratic National Convention and from 2000 to 2005, he was the Democratic National Committee Chairman. He was also Chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Panelists

Andrew McCabe
Former Acting Deputy Director, FBI
Schar School Distinguished Visiting Professor

Former deputy director of the FBI Andrew McCabe will join the faculty of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University beginning August 24.

McCabe, who serves as an intelligence analyst for CNN, will hold the title of Distinguished Visiting Professor. He will teach courses in national security and related topics beginning with the spring semester. Until then he will be a special guest lecturer in the Schar School.

“I am honored to join the Schar School team of scholars and professionals who are dedicated to inspiring the next generation of government and policy professionals,” McCabe said in a statement. “It is a wonderful opportunity to share my experience and perspectives on law enforcement and national security with students interested in serving their country and their communities.”

Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School, said McCabe’s addition to the faculty strengthens a Master’s in International Security program that already boasts such leading experienced professionals such as former CIA and National Security Agency director Michael V. Hayden, former CIA acting director Michael Morell, former White House Situation Room senior director Larry Pfeiffer, and former vice chair of the National Intelligence Council Ellen Laipson.

“We are thrilled to have Andrew McCabe join the Schar School to help educate our students who will become the next generation of leaders in the fields of intelligence, security, and public policy,” Rozell said.

McCabe appeared in an October panel discussion, “Intelligence and the U.S. Presidential Election,” hosted by the Schar School’s Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, featuring former CIA director John O. Brennan, former acting director of the CIA John E. McLaughlin, the Schar School’s Morell, and moderated by CBS News’ Margaret Brennan. 

Alice Stewart
CNN Political Commentator, Resident Fellow at Harvard University, Kennedy Institute of Politics

Alice Stewart is a CNN Political Commentator, Communications Consultant, veteran Senior Communications Advisor on numerous presidential campaigns and an Emmy Award winning journalist.

Stewart is a contributor on National Public Radio and serves on the faculty at the Leadership Institute where she conducts media training for political leaders in the United States and abroad.

Stewart worked as Communications Director for the presidential campaigns of Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Rick Santorum and Congressman Michele Bachmann.  She also served as a surrogate for the Republican National Committee.

Stewart has worked on communications strategy for Concerned Women for America, Republican National Senatorial Committee, Republican National Congressional Committee and Rick Scott for Florida Governor.  Stewart also served as Deputy Secretary of State for the State of Arkansas.

In her previous news life, Stewart worked as an Anchor/Reporter in Little Rock, Arkansas and Savannah, Georgia, and an associate producer in Atlanta, Georgia. Stewart also hosted a political talk radio show, “The Alice Stewart Show,” which featured national and local political leaders.  The goal of the show was to engage in a civil discussion on political issues and agree to disagree in a respectful manner.

Stewart’s Fall 2019 study group topic was entitled: From the Reagan Rule to Trump Tweets: Was 2016 Incivility an Aberration or Precedent-setting? It included a look back at the election process, press and data, with a glimpse to the future of Populism, Socialism, and Trumpism.

Michael Zeldin
CNN Legal Contributor

Michael Zeldin has served as a TV legal analyst since 1996, covering the OJ Simpson murder trial, Whitewater/Lewinsky investigation, Clinton impeachment proceedings, Gore v. Bush court challenges, and the Mueller Special Counsel investigation.

During his tenure in the U.S. Department of Justice, he held various senior positions, including:  Deputy Chief, Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section; Chief, Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Offices; and Special Counsel for Money Laundering Matters to Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Robert Mueller.

Mr. Zeldin served as the Deputy Independent/Independent Counsel, investigating allegations of tampering with candidate Bill Clinton’s passport files during the 1992 presidential campaign.

Mr. Zeldin also served as the Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, Foreign Affairs Committee, October Surprise Task Force, where he investigated the events surrounding the holding of the American hostages in Iran during the Carter presidency.

He has published Op-ed pieces for CNN.com, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Hill, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post.

He is an internationally recognized expert on money laundering, terrorist financing and economic sanctions.

Richard Levick, Esq.
Chairman & CEO, LEVICK

Richard Levick, Esq., is chairman & CEO of LEVICK, representing countries and companies in the highest-stakes global communications matters: the Venezuelan crisis; Qatar; the Chinese trade war; the Gulf oil spill; Guantanamo Bay, the Catholic Church, and many others.

Mr. Levick was honored multiple times on the prestigious list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the Boardroom” and has been named to multiple professional Halls of Fame for lifetime achievement.

He is the co-author of four books and is a regular commentator on television and in print. Mr. Levick speaks all over the world—at West Point, The Army War College, and teaches at Fordham Law School.

Jennifer Victor
Associate Professor of Political Science at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government

Jennifer Nicoll Victor is Associate Professor of Political Science at George Mason University’s Schar School Policy and Government.

Professor Victor studies the U.S. Congress, legislative organization and behavior, social network methods, political parties, campaign finance, organized interest groups, and lobbying. She is the co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Political Networks (2017). She is the co-author (with Nils Ringe) of Bridging the Information Gap: Legislative Member Organizations in the United States and the European Union (U. Michigan Press 2013). Professor Victor has published research in the American Journal of Political Science, the British Journal of Political Science, American Politics Research, Party Politics, Interest Groups & Advocacy, P.S.: Political Science and Politics, and elsewhere. In 2019 she was awarded George Mason University’s Teaching Excellence Award.

Professor Victor is a co-founding contributor to the political science blog “Mischiefs of Faction,” and is a contributing writer for GEN by Medium. Her public scholarship has also appeared in The New York Times, The Conversation, OUP Blog, and LSE US Politics blog. Professor Victor serves on the Board of Directors of the non-profit, non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, is the past president of the National Capital Area Political Science Association, and past Chair of the APSA organized section on Political Networks. In 2005 she served as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in the office of Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND). From 2003-2012 she was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She joined the faculty at George Mason University in 2012. Professor Victor holds a B.A. in Political Science from University of California, San Diego (Magna Cum Laude, 1997), and an M.A. (1999) and Ph.D. (2003) in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis.