Gen. Clark selected to speak April 2

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark will be speaking on campus April 2.

The Speaker Series Committee had narrowed its selection to three candidates in January, with Clark as its top choice.

“Gen. Clark has a very broad and impressive background,” said Martha Logsdon, political science professor and Speaker Series committee chairwoman. “It seems to us so many people are interested in world affairs.”

It will cost the university $25,000 to bring Clark to campus. The College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Honors Program are co-sponsoring the event because of the committee’s limited budget.

Tim Boudreau, journalism professor and Speaker Series committee member, said Clark would appeal to a broad audience across disciplines.

“Some of them (students) will recognize the name right away – others will not,” he said.

Boudreau said when students learn about Clark’s credentials, they will turn up at the speech.

Clark was a former presidential hopeful and vied for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential primary. He eventually dropped out of the race and campaigned for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

The series was brought back this year after University President Michael Rao provided the series with $20,000 as a one-time stipend.

Before becoming inactive in 2003, the series received a $40,000 allocation every year.

Boudreau said he thinks students will need to be prodded to attend the event.

John Fierst, Clarke Historical Library assistant professor and Speaker Series committee member, said students usually attend speakers after professors urge them.

“It really takes the faculty,” Fierst said. “But personally, if they (students) had any attention to last election, they would know who (Clark) is.”

Logsdon said Clark will speak at 8 p.m. April 2 in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium.

The two candidates who were not chosen were Aaron Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent at CNN.

ddefever@cm-life.com