MSU awards 2005 fellowships to political leaders Contact: Shannon Horvath or Amy J. Baumer, IPPSR, (517) 355-6672, baumeram@msu.edu; or Gisgie Dávila Gendreau, University Relations, (517) 432-0924, gendrea3@msu.edu
1/13/2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Twenty-four individuals have been awarded the Michigan Political Leadership Program fellowship at Michigan State University, officials announced today.
“MPLP’s 2005 class includes some of Michigan’s most promising leaders,” said MPLP Co-director James G. Agee. “We are very pleased with the diverse group of men and women who will be participating this year.”
Besides representing various fields of political leadership and professional backgrounds – ranging from a cyberjournalist to an assistant prosecutor – the fellows represent a wide spectrum of political viewpoints.
“Narrowing the field of candidates becomes more challenging each year,” said MPLP Co-director Anne Mervenne. “This year’s selection process included over 100 interviews in four regions of the state.”
Each individual receives the $12,000 MPLP fellowship, which runs from February to November. The program hones public policy decision-making, leadership and campaign management skills via seminars, lectures and hands-on experience.
Two fund-raising events for the program are planned and expected to draw the largest multi-partisan crowds of any event in the state. Political commentators and former presidential candidates Patrick Buchanan and Howard Dean will be the featured speakers on March 3 and 4, as follows:
- MPLP 10th Annual Fundraising Dinner, Thursday, March 3, from 5 to 8:30 p.m., at the Laurel Manor in Livonia
- MPLP 3rd Annual West Michigan Breakfast, Friday, March 4, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., at the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids
The duo will provide commentary on current state and national political issues, covering both sides of the political aisle. Buchanan is an author, columnist, political analyst and regular contributor for MSNBC. A senior adviser to three presidents, Buchanan is also a three-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, and was the 2000 Reform Party presidential nominee.
A medical doctor, Dean began his political career in the Vermont House of Representatives. In 2002, he stepped down from his decade-long term as Vermont governor to run for U.S. president. Most recently, he announced a bid to chair the Democratic National Committee.
Tickets, at $125 ($100 of which is tax deductible) and sponsorships at all levels are available by contacting MPLP at (517) 355-6672, Ext. 116, or by visiting www.ippsr.msu.edu/MPLP
The Michigan Political Leadership Program is distinguished as one of only a handful of programs of its kind in the nation and is directed by Agee and Mervenne. MPLP is a program of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research in MSU’s College of Social Science.
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