Reagan biographer to kick off Presidential Lecture Series at Dole Institute of Politics

Events will include Cannon, Rollins, Wirthlin

Lou Cannon, former President Ronald Reagan’s definitive biographer, will kick off the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics’ Presidential Lecture Series 2005, “The Reagan Presidency,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at the Lied Center.

Other Reagan-focused events, to take place in the Dole Institute’s Hansen Hall, will feature prominent Reagan campaign strategists, officials and close associates.

“ Lou Cannon will set the stage for a month dedicated to programs on the Reagan presidency,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute. Cannon has written five Reagan books, most recently, “President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime.”

Cannon also will deliver “President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in Regnier Auditorium at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park. The event is free and open to the public but reservations are required; call (913) 897-8400.

“ We will have a spectacular lineup for February, including Ed Rollins, who managed President Reagan’s 1984 re-election campaign, and longtime Reagan pollster Richard Wirthlin, among others,” Lacy said.

“It will be a blend of history and the strategists involved in the key events of the Reagan years.”

Wirthlin wrote “The Greatest Communicator: What Ronald Reagan Taught Me about Politics, Leadership and Life,” which was published in 2004.

The Presidential Lecture Series also will include career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union Jack Matlock, author of “Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended”; Craig Shirley, author of the forthcoming book “Reagan’s Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign that Started It All”; former White House political director Frank Donatelli; and former Director of Presidential Advance Jim Hooley and Lead Advance Andrew Littlefair. Both Hooley and Littlefair were instrumental in planning Reagan’s funeral.

The lecture series is free and open to the public, but tickets will be required for all events. For more information, visit the Dole Institute’s Web site at www.doleinstitute.org/.