News: Politics

As social media companies face growing scrutiny among lawmakers and the general public, the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW–Madison welcomes Katie Harbath, a former global public policy director at Facebook for the past 10 years, for a livestreamed public presentation March 24.

As the United States faces its most serious challenges in recent history, UW–Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs is offering a series of livestreamed events leading up to the Nov. 3 election.

Professor Emeritus Dennis Dresang is teaching a course this fall on The History of Progressive Politics in Wisconsin through UW–Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies. The five-session weekly course begins Wednesday, September 23 and concludes October 21. Each 90-minute class begins at 7 p.m.

The Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership at UW–Madison has several events scheduled across the state in the next several weeks. The first event features Michael Murphy, who will discuss the state of contemporary politics in the United States, on Friday, March 29 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Fluno Center.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs welcomes Katherine Gehl on Thursday, February 21 for Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America: A Strategy to Reinvigorate Democracy. With extensive public and private leadership experience, she will share her unique perspective on the non-partisan systemic changes needed to reform the country’s political system.

On one of my first days in the program, a faculty member told our cohort, “If you’re interested in making money, you’re in the wrong program. We’re in the business of making the world a better place.” From that moment, I knew I made the right choice.

David Axelrod shared his deeply personal connection with health care reform during a 90-minute conversation with La Follette School students September 28. As a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, Axelrod understood the political risks of the issue and was deeply conflicted about it.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Science at UW–Madison along with the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) are hosting a series of Real Town Hall events in preparation for the 2018 midterm elections.  

La Follette School Professor Susan Yackee and Harvard University’s Daniel Carpenter received a $142,388 grant from the Russell Sage Foundation to support their project on inequality in the political process and the resulting public policies – specifically, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010.

Cody Keenan, a speechwriter for President Barack Obama for more than a decade, will discuss Bending the Arc: A Career of Purpose and Life in the White House on Friday, September 29. Keenan also serves as Obama’s collaborator on the former president’s upcoming book.