George Stephanopoulos
BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 21, 2006 – ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos will give the Cutchins Distinguished Lecture at Virginia Tech on Thursday, March 16, 7:30 p.m., in Burruss Auditorium.
The Cutchins Distinguished Lecture is sponsored by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development in the Pamplin College of Business and is open to the public at no charge. No tickets are required and free parking is available in all Faculty/Staff parking lots.
The lecture is part of Virginia Tech’s observance of Founders Day. First held in 1972 during the university’s centennial, Founders Day commemorates the establishment of the institution on March 19, 1872.
In his talk, “Politics: The Art of the Impossible — A View From Washington,” Stephanopoulos, a former senior advisor to President Bill Clinton, will draw on his expansive political career — on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and as a member of the press — to provide analysis of events in Washington and around the world, including the current state of American politics, international relations, and the new global economy.
Stephanopoulos joined ABC News in 1997 as a news analyst for "This Week." He began anchoring "This Week" in September 2002, after reporting on a variety of domestic and international stories for "This Week," "World News Tonight," "Good Morning America," and other ABC News programs and special event broadcasts as a correspondent. On “This Week,” he has interviewed such notables as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi.
Before joining ABC News, Stephanopoulos served in the Clinton administration as the senior adviser to the president for policy and strategy. A key strategist in both Clinton presidential campaigns, he helped develop major policy initiatives during President Clinton's first term. During the 1992 presidential election, Stephanopoulos served on the Clinton/Gore campaign as deputy campaign manager and director of communications. His experiences as presidential adviser and campaign strategist are chronicled in his best-selling memoir, All Too Human: A Political Education.
Before joining Clinton's campaign, Stephanopoulos was executive floor manager to House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt. Stephanopoulos grew up in Cleveland. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1982 from Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received a master's degree in theology at Balliol College, Oxford University, England, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development at Virginia Tech aims to educate students about leadership and prepare them to be leaders of integrity and ability. The center is named in honor of the late W. Thomas Rice (Class of 1934), a retired railroad industry executive and former rector of the board of visitors. The Cutchins Distinguished Lecture series is named for the late Clifford A. Cutchins III (Class of 1944), a former bank chairman and rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
Virginia Tech’s nationally ranked Pamplin College of Business offers undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and information systems, business information technology, economics, finance, hospitality and tourism management, management, and marketing. The college emphasizes the development of ethical values and leadership, technology, and international business skills. A member of its marketing faculty directs the interdisciplinary Sloan Foundation Forest Industries Center at Virginia Tech. The college’s other centers focus on business leadership, electronic commerce, and organizational performance. The college is committed to serving business and society through the expertise of its faculty, alumni, and students. It is named in honor of Robert B. Pamplin (Class of 1933), the former CEO of Georgia-Pacific, and his son, businessman and philanthropist Robert B. Pamplin Jr. (Class of 1964).