Jonathan Miller to Deliver Lecture on Civility in Politics
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 31, 2011) – Jonathan Miller, secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet for Kentucky, will deliver the 2011 Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi lecture titled "Civility in American Politics."
[IMAGE1]The lecture will be held 6 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Lexmark Room of the Main Building.
As the state's chief financial officer, Miller oversees the agency that operates as the hub of state governement and serves on dozens of state boards that cover policy matters on higher education, environmental protection and affordable housing. Miller has also led Gov. Steve Beshear's recent pension reform efforts which have already resulted in passage of comprehensive, bi-partisan legislation that averted the system's bankruptcy.
"Given the lack of civil discourse particularly in our current political environment, I look forward to Mr. Miller sharing his unique perspective of communicating ideas in such a way that we might possibly move beyond political rancor," said David Sogin, president of the UK Phi Kappa Phi chapter and professor of music education in the UK College of Fine Arts.
"In addition, given his passion for an affordable higher education for everyone here in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I hope he is able to touch on some of those issues as well. Since he has been in public office for over 20 years and passionate about public service, I believe he has much to say on these fairly broad topics that would interest our entire campus community."
Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776, has grown to become the leading advocate of excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. With over half a million members and 280 college and university chapters around the nation, the society embraces the principles of freedom of inquiry and liberty of thought and expression. The UK chapter is the first in Kentucky (Alpha).
Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines, recognizing and promoting academic excellence in all fields of higher education. The UK Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was started in 2009.
Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa are both programs within the UK Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence, which is an intentional collaboration among prestigious undergraduate programs at the university, also including the Discovery Seminar Program, Education Abroad, Office of Undergraduate Research, the Honors Program, Intercollegiate Debate, Living-Learning Communities and the Office of External Scholarships.
The center was created in August 2005 with an initial gift of $1.5 million from alumnus Paul Chellgren and his family, with an additional gift of $250,000 in September 2006. His total commitment of $2.25 million was matched by the state’s Endowment Match Program, creating a $4.5 million endowment for center.
As a UK undergraduate, Chellgren was an Honors Program student and star intercollegiate debater. After earning his MBA from Harvard and a D.D.E. from Oxford University, he began a successful career that culminated with his retirement as chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc. He is currently an operating partner with SPG Partners LLC, a New York City private equity firm. He was inducted into UK’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2000 and the Gatton College of Business and Economics Hall of Fame in 1995, and served on the UK Board of Trustees for 11 years. His commitment to improving and enriching undergraduate education at UK continues to impact thousands of UK students, faculty and staff.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jenny Wells, (859) 257-1754; Jenny.Wells@uky.edu