Public Lectures, Class Presentations Part of Three-day Visit by Two Former U.S. House Members
Politics in Washington — past, present and future — will be the focus of a public lecture by former U.S. Reps. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) and Mike Kopetski (D-OR) Oct. 7 at the University of Maine.
The lecture, 4–5:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room, Memorial Union, is part of a three-day visit to Orono and Bangor by the two former lawmakers, sponsored by the UMaine Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service. Gutknecht and Kopetski will spend their time on campus leading discussions in political science classes, as well as a course in UMaine’s new Leadership Studies program. Kopetski also will lead a UMaine Career Center discussion with students about working in Asia.
During the Maine visit, Gutknecht and Kopetski will offer a Bangor Foreign Policy Club lecture, “The U.S. in the World Today: A Bipartisan View from Congress,” 7:30–9 a.m., Oct. 8, Bangor Public Library. They also will meet with students at Bangor High School.
Gutknecht served 12 years in the U.S. House. He was vice chair of the House Science Committee and chair of an agriculture subcommittee that oversaw renewable energy programs. Gutknecht is an adviser to several companies, including TransparaGov Corp.
Kopetski served four years in the U.S. House, where he was a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He is an international trade consultant, with a focus on China.
UMaine’s Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service is designed to model, promote, and teach leadership and civic engagement through programs that reflect and honor the legacy of U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen’s public service. The institute is dedicated to bringing together academic experts and civic leaders from diverse political backgrounds to forge informed consensus on a range of contemporary policy challenges.
For more information, contact Professor of Political Science Richard Powell, director of the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service, 207.581.1795.