UK, Transy Bring Students to Lexington From Around the Nation for Annual Congress on Compromise

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 10, 2017) — A total of 50 college seniors from Kentucky and 48 other states, principally nominated by the senior U.S. senator from each state recently traveled to Lexington to participate in a weeklong program hosted by UK's Martin School of Public Policy and Administration and Transylvania University in conjunction with the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship (HCCS).

The Transy campus served as home base for the college-level HCCS Student Congress, as well as an earlier high school-level version of the event. Students stayed in Transy residence halls and utilized dining and meeting facilities there.

The HCCS works to impart the skills of public dialogue and leadership to bring about change in an increasingly polarizing environment. The HCCS Student Congress attracts exceptional college students from every region of the nation to engage in group policy development exercises. During the program, the next-generation leaders and public servants learn the seemingly lost arts of negotiation, goodwill and compromise.

The Clay Congress experience comes at a critical time, said Merl Hackbart, professor in the Martin School who serves as UK’s coordinator for the college version of the event.

“As future leaders in their states and in the nation, the Clay Congress participants gain valuable knowledge regarding current and emerging public policy issues. They also learn more about the art of public policy development and how the principles of Kentucky’s Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, and others can lead to policy compromise in an increasingly polarized Congress and nation,” he said. "Such experience will be valuable to them as citizens and active participants in the development of issue-resolving government policies which continually emerge in a democracy such as ours.”

UK President Eli Capilouto was among the campus and community leaders who spoke to the 2017 Clay Center Student Congress. During the congress, students focused on means of compromising on major national policy issues such as transportation, health, foreign intervention and budget priorities. Martin School doctoral students served as mentors for the program participants and the week culminated with the students presenting their approach to resolving policy issues as well as the outcome of their policy compromise deliberations on the four policy topics considered by the attending college students.

One highlight of the week was an early evening visit to one of the leading thoroughbred horse farms in the world, Three Chimneys Farm, owned by Robert Clay, who is co-chair of the Clay Center for Statesmanship and a major supporter of the student-centered program. In addition to activities on the UK campus, other events took place at the Council of State Governments offices in Lexington.

A subgroup comprised of 14 college students from the Clay Congress then traveled to Washington, D.C., for several days to learn more about how federal policy research groups such as the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office analyze future trend implications of proposed policy options for Congressional policymakers. They also visited the associations which represent the states regarding federal state relations including the National Governors Association, the Council of State Governments’ Washington Office and the National Association of State Budget Officers.   

The Martin School of Public Policy and Administration excels in research, education and service by applying intellectual resources to public policy and management issues. It accomplishes its purpose by engaging in cutting-edge, policy analytics research, providing an innovative environment reflective of strategic thinking, and providing service to the Commonwealth, national and international communities. The Martin School offers graduate degrees at both the master's and doctoral levels.