GRANVILLE - Former presidential candidate and majority leader of the U.S. Senate Robert Dole will visit Denison University as the 10th speaker in the Mary Elizabeth Babcock Lecture Series to speak on "Reflections on American Conservatism." The All College Convocation, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 28) in Swasey Chapel.

Dole's career in American political affairs started with his election to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1950. Dole's eight-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives began with a 1961 victory. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968, serving as Republican National Chairman from 1971-73.

Dole's legislative impact includes his 1983 overhaul of Social Security financing and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Dole served in Italy during World War II and was critically wounded in 1945. He permanently lost the use of his right arm. For his bravery, he was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.

In 1996, after prevailing in the Republican presidential primaries, Dole resigned his Senate seat to concentrate on his campaign for the presidency. Dole and his vice-presidential choice, Jack Kemp, lost to Bill Clinton and Al Gore in that election.

Dole has made many national post-election appearances on television shows, giving speeches and with his "New York Times" best selling book, "Great Political Wit...Laughing (almost) All the Way to the White House." He has been seen on "The Late Show with David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." During the 2000 election season, Dole has teamed with comedian Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," to give humorous, but accurate, coverage of the presidential campaign.

Dole has many honors and achievements to add to his list of public presentations. In 1997, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest distinction for service in the nation. Dole also has been honored with the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal and the National Athletic Association's Teddy Roosevelt Award.

Dole established The Dole Foundation in 1983 and serves as its Chairman of the Board. The Foundation works to help the disabled by expanding work and education opportunities. In his honor, The Robert Dole Scholarship Fund for Disabled Students was incorporated into the United Negro College Fund.

Dole's wife, Elizabeth, who graduated from Duke University and holds a law degree from Harvard University, has helped her husband during his political campaigns, earning acclaim for her 1996 convention speech in support of her husband. In 1999 she left her post as head of the American Red Cross to run for the Republican Presidential nomination herself. She withdrew from the election citing shortage of campaign funds.

Dole earned a law degree from the Washburn University of Topeka. Upon graduation, he served four terms as Russell County attorney from 1953 to 1961.

The late Mary Elizabeth Babcock, a Denison alumna and Johnstown (Ohio) philanthropist, endowed the Mary Elizabeth Babcock Lectureship in the American Conservative Tradition to "bring prominent conservative speakers to campus and thus interpret the genesis, the philosophical undergirding and policy manifestations of the American conservative heritage." She died June 12, 1998 at age 90. Previous Babcock lecturers include William F. Buckley, James J. Kirkpatrick, George F. Will, Zabigniew Brzezinski, David R. Gergen, Robert Novak, Richard "Dick" Thornburgh, Jack Kemp and Judge Robert H. Bork.

For press inquiries:

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Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

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stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575