The Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics is a bipartisan research and teaching institute dedicated to increasing understanding of the political process with special emphasis on political parties, grassroots activity, and ethical behavior.
Visit the Bliss Institute website.
Well-known political leaders Robert T. Bennett and David C. Wilhelm will be the inaugural Distinguished Chairs of Applied Politics (DCAP) for the 2010-11 academic year in The University of Akron’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, part of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.
An experienced political leader – the DCAP – will be selected each semester to enrich UA’s applied politics curriculum through lectures, small group meetings, faculty consultations and public events. In keeping with the bipartisan nature of the Bliss Institute, each academic year one DCAP will be a Democrat and the other a Republican. The DCAPs will be compensated through Bliss Institute endowment funds.
“The Distinguished Chairs of Applied Politics will help take our program to a new level, providing our students with the opportunity to learn from successful political leaders from both of the major parties,” says Dr. John Green, Bliss Institute director. ”We are privileged to have two such prominent individuals inaugurate this new program.”
About Robert T. Bennett
Bennett, who spent 21 years as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and is now chairman emeritus, will be the DCAP for the fall 2010 semester. He began his duties on Sept. 9.
Under Bennett’s leadership, the Ohio Republican Party experienced a number of noteworthy state and local victories, earning him the title of “the King of State Party Chairmen” by former White House political adviser and current Fox News commentator Karl Rove. Currently, he serves as one of the Republican National Committee’s Ohio representatives.
"As a visiting lecturer, I will try to help students get an even better understanding of how the political process can be used to help ordinary citizens, and how their role in that process should never be underestimated," says Bennett.
A lawyer and certified public accountant by training, he formerly specialized in business law prior to his political career. Bennett holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Ohio State University and a law degree from Cleveland Marshall Law School of Baldwin Wallace College (now of Cleveland State University).
About David C. Wilhelm
Wilhelm, who managed the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign and served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1993-94, will be the visiting professor for the spring 2011 semester.
An authority on campaigns and leadership, Wilhelm also served in campaigns for Vice President Joseph Biden, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and Paul Simon, the late U.S. Senator from Illinois. In 2009, he helped secure the passage of a state ballot issue to fund the “Third Frontier” program in Ohio.
"What a great time to undertake this assignment,” says Wilhelm, who will begin his duties in January 2011. “We will be in a period when the lessons of the 2010 campaign season can be reviewed, and just in time for the 2012 presidential campaigns to take shape.
“And what better place to begin this conversation than the highly respected Bliss Institute,” he continues. “I consider this a high honor and very much look forward to working with students, faculty and the broader University of Akron community."
Wilhelm is a graduate of Ohio University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He received honorary doctorates from Ohio University and the University of Charleston. He has taught at the University of Chicago, DePaul University and Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. In recent years, he has worked to bring investment capital into parts of the country that are underserved by the venture capital community, including the Great Lakes region and central Appalachia.
Media contact: Sarah Lane, 330-972-7429 or slane@uakron.edu.