Athens, Ga. – Former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich will deliver the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs’ annual Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability. His lecture, entitled “Effective American Policy in a Dangerous World” will be given on April 7 at 3 p.m. in the UGA Chapel. The event is open to the public.
Gingrich, who has been in the headlines recently for criticizing federal bailouts, said that his prescription for the current economic crisis would be, “Replace the bailouts with bankruptcy, for all of them.” In recent media interviews, Gingrich has been critical of both the Bush and Obama administrations for their handling of the economic crisis.
“You may or may not agree with former Speaker Gingrich on public policy issues, but you must take him seriously because he is smart, well-informed and innovative in his thinking,” said Thomas P. Lauth, dean of UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs.
A college history professor, political leader, and author, Gingrich won a seat in the U.S. House in 1978. He was re-elected 10 times, and his activism as a member of the House’s Republican minority eventually enabled him to succeed Dick Cheney as House minority whip in 1989. As a co-author of the 1994 Contract with America, Gingrich was in the forefront of the Republican Party’s dramatic success in the 1994 Congressional elections and subsequently was elected speaker, serving from 1995-1999.
Republicans lost five seats in the House in the 1998 elections, and shortly after, Gingrich resigned from his House seat and as speaker. Since that time, Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst, consultant and author. He serves as chairman of the Gingrich Group, a communications and consulting firm with offices in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Gingrich is teaching a course on judicial review this spring in the UGA School of Law as the Carl E. Sanders Political Leadership Scholar.
The Getzen Lecture is co-hosted by the School of Public and International Affairs and the department of public administration and policy.
SPIA prepares students for careers in public service in Georgia, the nation and the world and is fast becoming recognized as a national and international leader in public affairs research and education. The school’s master of public administration program is one of the nation’s best for public service education and is ranked 4th in the nation among hundreds of public affairs programs (U.S. News & World Report, 2009).
