As the destination for policy leadership, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin is set to welcome a bevy of civic and political leaders from both sides of the aisle in its fall LBJ Conversations series hosted by former CEO of the Texas Tribune and Professor of Practice, Evan Smith.
The series, brought to you by The Patman Center for Civic and Political Engagement, will operate in conjunction with Smith’s course titled “Politics and Issues of the Moment,” timed with the current election season. However, these events are free and open to the public.
"The LBJ School is proud to foster an exchange of ideas among today's and tomorrow's leaders.” said LBJ School Dean JR DeShazo. “This series reaffirms our commitment to civic engagement by hosting a diverse lineup of leaders across all levels of public service.”
LBJ Conversations will take place on Mondays throughout the Fall Semester at 4:00 p.m. with a special presentation on Sept. 9th at 12 p.m. featuring former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove.
“These discussions will focus on the politics and issues driving the moment we’re in — what’s left of the 2024 election cycle and the run-up to the next sessions of the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress and the next biennial election cycle,” said Smith. “We’ll have big-name guests visit our class each week to discuss what's really going on: in races and in parties, in the halls of government, from one end of the state to the other, and along the path from Texas to D.C.”
A limited number of seats are available to the public. View the events schedule and RSVP here.
Speaker Schedule:
*All events are at 4 pm CT unless otherwise noted
Sept. 9: Karl Rove, White House Deputy Chief of Staff at 12pm
Sept. 9: Sarah Eckhardt, Texas State Senator (D-Austin)
Sept. 16: Javier Salazar, Bexar County Sheriff
Sept. 23: Sheryl Cole, Texas State Representative (D-Austin), Gina Hinojosa, Texas State Representative (D-Austin) and John Bucy, Texas State Representative (D-Austin)
Sept. 30: Craig Goldman, Republican nominee for the U.S. House from Fort Worth
Oct. 7: Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller
Oct. 14: To be announced
Oct. 21: Tony Gonzalez, U.S. Representative (R-San Antonio)
Oct. 28: José Garza, Travis County District Attorney
Nov. 4: Andy Brown, Travis County Judge
Nov. 11: Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and former U.S. Senator
Nov. 18: Rick Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Texas Governor
Dec. 2: Mattie Parker, Fort Worth Mayor
Dec. 9: To be announced
For updates and more information on LBJ School events, subscribe to our event newsletter or visit lbj.utexas.edu.