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United Nations Global
Ambassador on World Hunger
A war hero, 22-year U.S. congressman
and presidential candidate, George McGovern will long be remembered
for his courage in speaking out against U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War, his friendship and respect for the common man, and his
work on behalf of American farmers and hungry children throughout
the world.
In 1956 McGovern was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives where he served until 1960 when
President John F. Kennedy named him the first director of the Food
for Peace Program and special assistant to the president. In this
position he made the first offer of U.S. assistance that paved the
way for the establishment of the World Food Programme. Throughout
his congressional career, McGovern was instrumental in creating
programs to alleviate hunger, including Food for Peace, the school
lunch program and food stamps.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton
appointed him ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization in Rome, and in 2000 honored him with the Presidential
Medal of Freedom. In 2001, he was appointed the first United Nations
global ambassador on world hunger.
McGovern is a native of South Dakota
and a graduate of Dakota Wesleyan University where he was also a
history professor.
Associate Professor of History
Southern Methodist University
Thomas J. Knock teaches courses on 20th
Century America and on the history of U.S. foreign relations at Southern
Methodist University. He has been awarded research grants from the
National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical
Society, and has been a Fellow at the Charles Warren Center for
Historical Studies at Harvard University.
For the past few years, Knock has been at
work on "Come Home America: A Political Biography of George
McGovern," a major study of the life and career of McGovern. He has
published several scholarly essays about McGovern and Food for Peace,
and other issues surrounding the statesman. Recently, Knock served as
the historical adviser for the documentary feature film, "One
Bright Shining Moment - the Forgotten Summer of George McGovern,"
which premiered in October at the Annual Hamptons International Film
Festival in New York.
Knock earned his Ph.D. in history at
Princeton University.
Al Neuharth is the founder and senior
advisory chairman of the Fredom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation
dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The
Freedom Forum funds and operates the Newseum, the First Amendment Center
and the Diversity Institute.
Neuharth was the chairman of the Freedom
Forumn from 1986 to 1997, and was a trustee of the foundation and its
predecessor, the Gannett Foundation, from 1965 to 1999. He is the
founder of the nation's most widely read newspaper, USA Today, and
former chairman and chief executive officer of Gannett Co.
Neuharth was born in Eureka, S.D., and
has known George McGovern for more than 40 years.
Associate Professor of Political
Science
Florida Atlantic University
Robert Watson is the conference convener
for this year's McGovern Center Conference and the editor of
"George McGovern: A Political Life, A Political Legacy." He
teaches courses about the presidency, policy making and the politics of
race and gender at FAU.
Watson's research interests include the
U.S. presidency, first ladies and first families, and the White house.
He is the author, editor or co-editor of
21 books, including "The Presidents' Wives: Reassessing the Office
of First Lady." Watson is the editor of the journal White House
Studies, the book review editor of the Social Science Journal, and a
member of the boards of several journals, academic associations and
presidential foundations.
Executive Director
South Dakota Humanities Council
Don Simmons is the founding executive
director of the South Dakota Center for the Book. A former college
professor, he is widely recognized for his research, administrative
skills and scholarship. Simmons has been the recipient of the
Association of Third World Studies Presidential Award and the Academic
Affairs State Administrator of the Year award. He is the author of
numerous publications, including "Latin America and the Caribbean
in Transition" (Troy State University Press, 1995), which he
co-authored and co-edited, and "Confederate Settlements in British
Honduras" (McFarland, 2001).
Currently serves on City Council in Egan,
S.D. Currently serves on Governor's SD state board of nursing.
Simmons completed his doctoral studies in
history and international studies at the University of Denver.
Professor of Political Science
South Dakota State University
Gary Aguiar is an associate professor of
political science at South Dakota State University in Brookings, where
he has taught courses in American politics since 1999. He earned his
Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University in Bloomington in
1996.
He currently leads a research agenda to
vitalize rural politics as a new subfield in political science. In
particular, the research group explores the nature of civic engagement
and political participation as they relate to size of place.
Professor of Political Science
Black Hills State University
Ahrar Ahmad teaches courses primarily on
comparative politics and international relations.
He has received teaching or research
grants from the National Endowment of the Humanities, the Chiesman
Foundation, the University Research Committee and the Instructional
Improvement Committee of BHSU. Ahmad has taught for three summers in the
Junior Statesmen Program at Princeton University. He is a member of
several professional organizations including the American Political
Science Association and the Great Plains Political Science Association,
and those dedicated to Third World studies, Asian studies and Middle
East studies.
His academic degrees are from the
University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, the University of Waterloo in Canada,
and Southern Illinois University.
Director of Research and
Publishing
South Dakota State Historical Society
Nancy Tystad Koupal is the editor of
the SDHS award-winning journal South Dakota History and the director
of the South Dakota State Historical Society Press.
Koupal is the author and editor of
"Baum's Road to Oz: The Dakota Years" and coeditor, with
James P. Ronda, of "Finding Lewis and Clark: Old Tails, New
Directions."
She received her bachelor's degree in
foreign languages from South Dakota State University, her M.A. from
Morehead State University, Morehead, Ken., and she did doctoral work
in American and English literature at the University of Wisconsin -
Madison.
Assistant Director, Academic Advising
Center
University of South Dakota
A native of Vermillion, Stephen Ward's
first job was with U.S. Representative David Nagle of Iowa. Eventually,
the realities of life on Capitol Hill convinced him that studying
politics would be more rewarding than living it.
He completed a master's degree in
American history at the University of South Dakota and wrote his thesis
on the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, chaired by
Sen. George McGovern. Ward continued his education at American
University in Washington, DC, refining his interest in the commission
and its effects on the historical legacy of Senator McGovern.
Professor and Coordinator of Political
Science
Northern State University
Jon D. Schaff has taught at Northern
State University in Aberdeen since 2001. He as published on the domestic
policy of the Lincoln administration, the benefits of the Electoral
College, the problems of campaign finance regulations and on hate crimes
policy. He is currently working on projects involving the influence of
Alexander Hamilton on Lincoln's political thought and on visions of
progress in the works of Nebraska novelist Willa Cather.
A native of Rochester, Minn., Schaff
received his bachelor's degree from St. John's University in
Collegeville, Minn. He went on to earn an M.A. in political science at
the University of Wyoming and his Ph.D. at Loyola University Chicago.
Judge
Superior Court of Connecticut
Richard Marano was appointed to the
Superior Court of Connecticut on May 5. He is a graduate of Fairfield
University and Seton Hall University School of Law. He is a
board-certified criminal trial specialist (National Board of Trial
Advocacy) and is a member of the Board of Examiners of the National
Board of Trial Advocacy.
Marano has authored three books,
including "Vote Your Conscience: The Last Campaign of George
McGovern."
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