THE SERIES:

Workshop Panelists

January 11 USF Sarasota-Manatee
"Keep It Civil: We CAN All Just Get Along" - Senator Bob Graham
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February 7 USF Sarasota-Manatee
Candidate College - Aspiring candidates in Manatee, Sarasota, Hardee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties learned legal, financial, and media intricacies of running a campaign.
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February 8 USF Sarasota-Manatee
"A Skeptic’s Guide to Election Media Coverage" - Gregory Huber, Ph.D., Yale Political Science Professor, resident fellow of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies and the Center for Study of American Politics
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February 27 Ritz Carlton
Civility in Democracy - "Sabato's Crystal Ball"
Renowned elections pundit and University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato presented his "crystal ball" for the 2008 elections and commented on the American elections process.

March 12 The Chelsea Center (SOLD OUT)
"Civility, Life, and Politics in Florida"- Carl Hiaasen, author and investigative journalist for The Miami Herald

March 13 USF Sarasota-Manatee
The Role of Civic Culture in the Maintenance of Political Stability: Lessons from the Kenya Elections of 2007
Dr. Peter L. French, professor of Africana and recently retired Associate Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs at USF Sarasota-Manatee, discussed the stark contrast between the slaughter in Kenya that followed Africa’s national elections in December and the current elections process in the United States. A reception followed.

April 17 Ritz Carlton
Civility and Voting Technology in Democracy - "Making Every Vote Count"
Stephen Ansolabehere, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology political science professor and member of the Cal-Tech/MIT Voting Project, Doug Chapin, founding director of electionline.org, and The Honorable Kurt Browning, secretary of state of Florida, described innovative technologies for gathering and counting votes, and how elections officials are working to safeguard the integrity of the elections process

April 17th USF Sarasota-Manatee
"Election Musings, A View from the New York Times"
Robert B. Semple Jr., associate editor of The New York Times editorial page

October 8 USF Sarasota-Manatee
"Civility in Politics and Society"
Stephen L. Carter, author and Yale Law School professor