Dean Manderscheid's Blog

We’re excited to welcome astronaut and author Mark Kelly to campus next week to talk with students, faculty, staff and the general public as part of the Peter J. Hoagland Integrity in Public Service Lecture Series. This is a lecture series endowed by an alumnus of the College and a good friend of mine, Jim Crounse. Jim lives in the Washington, D.C. area and has been very successful handling direct-mail marketing for many high-profile Democratic candidates across the country. He also served as chief of staff for Peter Hoagland, a former state senator and three-term U.S. representative, for whom the lecture series is named.

This lecture series has allowed us to highlight speakers who’ve been involved in public service and have shown integrity in their commitments. In past years, we have enjoyed the insights of Ted Sorensen, an alumnus of the College and the acclaimed former adviser to President John F. Kennedy. We’ve also welcomed David Axelrod, who at the time was senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

I couldn’t be more pleased that we’ll get to hear about and learn from the tremendous experiences of Capt. Kelly, both in his time as an astronaut and as the husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. As many of you know, the congresswoman was critically shot as she met with some of her Arizona constituents a little over a year ago and survived. With Capt. Kelly by her side, she continues to make a remarkable recovery.

This lecture, "Endeavor to Succeed," will give students a wonderful opportunity to build on their classroom experiences and see vivid examples of how they can take their commitment to their community and serving others to a whole new level.