National political correspondent Mara Liasson to speak at UK Libraries Earle C. Clements Lecture-Symposium
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 12, 2022) — On Thursday, Sept. 15, University of Kentucky Libraries will welcome Mara Liasson, national political correspondent and analyst, for the 2022 Earle C. Clements Lecture-Symposium (Clements Lecture).
In this eye-opening presentation, one of the nation’s most experienced journalists shares how she gets to the source of what’s happening behind-the-scenes, how well the American public is being served by today’s media and political environment, and how future elections will impact what lies beyond the beltway.
The Clements Lecture will be held in-person at the Worsham Cinema in the Gatton Student Center beginning 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to attend.
Mara Liasson is the national political correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR), and a regular panelist on “Special Report with Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday” on the Fox News Channel. Her reports can be heard regularly on NPR’s award-winning news magazines "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition" where she provides extensive coverage of politics and policy from Washington, D.C., focusing on the White House and Congress.
Each election year, Liasson provides key coverage of the candidates and issues in both presidential and congressional races. Prior to her current assignment, Liasson was NPR’s White House correspondent for all eight years of the Clinton administration. She has won the White House Correspondents Association’s Merriman Smith Award for daily news coverage in 1994, 1995 and again in 1997. From 1989-1992, Liasson was NPR’s congressional correspondent.
The annual Earle C. Clements Lecture-Symposium is designed to share the legacy of Clements, who served as governor and U.S. representative for Kentucky and as a close colleague to then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson. Each year, the Clements Lecture-Symposium welcomes renowned intellectuals and scholars in the areas of public policy and government. It is made possible by the Clements Memorial Fund, a gift from the Abell family: Bess Clements Abell, Clements’ daughter; her husband Tyler Abell; and their sons Lyndon and Dan Abell.
“Earle C. Clements believed in public service, and I am grateful that the Clements Abell family has supported UK Libraries in a way that allows us to give back to the community,” said Deirdre Scaggs, associate dean for Research and Discovery Services at UK Libraries. “By bringing in speakers with a national voice we are promoting the ideals that Clements believed in and supporting positive discourse in American politics.”
In addition to the Clements Lecture-Symposium, the Clements Memorial Fund provides opportunities for Earle C. Clements graduate fellows and interns to present their research at national conferences. The fund builds on the Abells’ philanthropic legacy supporting public service in Kentucky. Other gifts include the Earle C. Clements Graduate Research Fellowship established by Bess in 2007 and the Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Award administered by the National Archives and UK Libraries Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center.
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