Former Presidential Candidate Howard Dean and Republican Strategist Ralph Reed to Be Featured in Oct. 7 Pitt Program Council Debate

PITTSBURGH—Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont and candidate in the 2004 Presidential primaries, and Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition and senior advisor to the 2000 Bush campaign, will face off in a Pitt Program Council (PPC)-sponsored debate at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 7 in the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union (WPU) Assembly Room, 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

Gordon Mitchell, associate professor and director of debate in Pitt's Department of Communication, will moderate "The Great Debate." The participants will take audience questions following the debate.

From 7:30 until 8:20 p.m., only Pitt students with a ticket will be admitted; all patrons will be admitted after 8:20 p.m. To enter the debate, students must present a ticket and a current Pitt Oakland student ID. Tickets are free and available to Pitt students only with the appropriate ID at the WPU ticket office's PPC window. A ticket will not guarantee a student admission after 8:20 p.m., when the doors open to everyone.

Dean mounted an influential campaign focusing on such issues as healthcare and job creation and helped to mobilize those apathetic to the political process with his message of revitalizing democracy and returning power to ordinary citizens. He generated a grassroots support base with his revolutionary use of the Internet.

Dean has formed Democracy for America, an organization committed to strong, sustained grassroots involvement in the democratic process. Its focus is on building progressive policies, including healthcare for all, investment in children, equal rights under law, fiscal responsibility, and a national security policy that makes America stronger by advancing progressive values.

Dean, a physician who previously shared a medical practice with his wife, Judith Steinberg Dean, received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1971 and the M.D. degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1978. Upon completing his residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, Dean went on to practice internal medicine in Shelburne, Vt. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1983 to 1985, elected lieutenant governor of Vermont in 1986, and was reelected in 1988 and 1990. On Aug. 14, 1991, upon the death of Governor Richard A. Snelling, Dean became governor. Elected to a full term in November1992, he was reelected in November 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. A past chair of the National Governors' Association (NGA), the Democratic Governors' Association, and the New England Governors' Conference, Dean also served on the National Education Goals Panel and was cochair of NGA's Task Force on Health Care.

Reed, considered a master of grassroots organizing, is widely credited with giving voice to the "silent majority," which propelled Ronald Reagan to the White House. As executive director of the Christian Coalition in the 1990s, he built one of the most effective grassroots organizations in modern American politics. During his tenure, the organization's budget grew from $200,000 to $27 million, and its support base grew from 2000 to 2,000,000 members and supporters in 2000 local chapters.

He has advised dozens of successful candidates for the U.S. Congress and governorships nationwide. In addition, he worked on six presidential campaigns, including serving as a senior advisor to Bush in both the 2000 primary and general election. In 2001, Reed was elected chair of the Georgia Republican Party and has played an important role in grassroots organization, fundraising, and candidate recruitment.

Reed, who resides in Atlanta with his wife Jo Anne and four children, received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia and the Ph.D. degree in American history from Emory University. He is founder and president of Century Strategies, a public affairs and public relations firm that provides its political and corporate clients with unique strategic insights and organizational ability.

For more information, call 412-648-7900 or visit www.pitt.edu/~ppc/debate.htm.

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10/4/04/tmw