Campus & Community

IOP announces spring fellows

6 min read

A two-term U.S. senator, a 12-term U.S. congressman, Vice President Cheney’s press secretary, and the daughter of President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson are among those who have been chosen for exclusive fellowships at the Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics (IOP).

Callie Crossley, producer of the ABC News program “20/20” and Emmy Award Winner for “Eyes on the Prize”; Bill Hillsman, media adviser to Paul Wellstone, Jesse Ventura, and Ralph Nader; Charles Robb, former U.S. senator and governor of Virginia; Lynda Johnson Robb, co-founder of “Reading Is Fundamental” and daughter of President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson; and Juleanna Glover Weiss, press secretary to Vice President Cheney, will spend the spring as resident fellows at the IOP. Two visiting fellows, 12-term U.S. Congressman Romano Mazzoli and former U.S. senator and presidential candidate George McGovern, will lead short-term discussion groups with students, while David Nyhan, a 30-year veteran of the Boston Globe, will serve as a special adviser to the IOP this semester.

“We are delighted such a prominent group of public officials and political veterans will be with us this semester,” said IOP director David Pryor. “Our fellows bring over a century of public service and political experience to the institute. I hope the students and community will utilize these brilliant practitioners.”

The resident fellows for 2002

Callie Crossley is an experienced media personality whose portfolio includes commentary, consulting, and speaking, as well as the production and direction of television, film, and radio programs. She was an Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner for the documentary feature “Eyes on the Prize” (“Bridge to Freedom 1965” episode). Crossley was a producer for “20/20” focusing on health issues, and for the prime-time special “Black in White America.” She was the senior producer for Blackside Productions’ upcoming PBS series, “This Far By Faith: Stories from the African-American Religious Experience.” Crossley will lead a study group on the media, perspectives, and biases.

Bill Hillsman is the founder and chief creative officer of North Woods Advertising in Minneapolis. His political strategy and vision for political advertising were evident in his award-winning campaigns for Sen. Paul Wellstone, Gov. Jesse Ventura, presidential candidate Ralph Nader, and other candidates and causes. His book on the election industry will be published this fall. Hillsman will lead a study group on new politics for the new millennium.

Charles S. Robb’s career has focused on military service, law, and politics. Elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 1977 and governor in 1981, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association and co-founded and chaired the Democratic Leadership Council. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988 and re-elected in 1994 over Ollie North in the most closely watched race in the nation. In the Senate he became the only senator ever to serve simultaneously on all three national security committees. Sen. Robb will lead a study group titled “The Politics of Defending America.”

Lynda Johnson Robb describes herself as a “professional volunteer.” As the daughter of President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, and the wife of former U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, she has long been in the public arena, focusing always on women and children’s issues, especially children’s literacy. While living in the White House following her graduation with honors from the University of Texas, she helped establish Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), an organization that is now the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization. As current chair emerita of the board of directors, she travels the country rallying community and business support for RIF programs. Robb will lead a study group titled “When Politics is the Family Business: A Viewpoint on Political Life.”

Juleanna Glover Weiss served on the 2000 presidential campaign and in the White House as the press secretary to Vice President Dick Cheney. Her campaign experience also includes significant roles in the Giuliani U.S. Senate Exploratory Committee and the Steve Forbes 2000 Presidential Campaign. Before that, Glover Weiss served as a senior policy advisery to Sen. John Ashcroft. Glover Weiss will lead a study group on the Bush-Cheney administration’s first year in office.

The visiting spring fellows for 2002

Romano L. Mazzoli served in the U.S. House of Representatives (D-Ky.) from 1971 to 1995, where he was the chairman of the subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and International Law. Mazzoli co-sponsored the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Bill in 1984, reforming immigration policy. He will be at the IOP until March 15 and will lead a study group on immigration.

George McGovern served as U.S. ambassador to the UN’s World Food Program from 1998 to 2001. Before that, he was the president of the Middle East Policy Council – an educational organization founded in 1981 to promote better understanding of the realities and issues of the Middle East. McGovern served in the U.S. House of Representatives (D-S.D.) from 1956 until 1960, when he was appointed the first director of the U.S. Food for Peace Program and Special Assistant to President Kennedy. In 1962, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and served three terms. McGovern was the Democratic nominee for president in 1972, and was appointed by presidents Ford and Carter as a delegate to the UN. McGovern will visit the IOP this semester.

Special adviser to the IOP for spring 2002

David Nyhan, recently left the Boston Globe, where he was a columnist and associate editor. Nyhan has covered nine presidential elections in a career that has taken him to every state and 20 foreign countries. He is a frequent commentator on politics for CNN, C-SPAN, New England Cable News, and public television in Boston. At the Globe, he served as State House bureau chief, congressional and White House correspondent in the Washington bureau, assistant managing editor in charge of news, and director of the paper’s political coverage. Nyhan, who wrote a book about the 1988 presidential campaign, will work on special projects and conferences at the IOP, hosting the Journalism Conference in February, Book Clubs throughout the semester, and a semimonthly current events roundtable.

The Institute of Politics was established in 1966 with an endowment from the John F. Kennedy Library Corp. to inspire undergraduate students to enter careers in politics and public service, and to promote greater understanding and cooperation between the academic community and the political world.