Rell Center to Discuss How to Bring Civility Back to Our Politics

How to bring civility back to our politics after the election will be the topic of a panel discussion sponsored by the Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford.  Former Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell will moderate a discussion titled “Where Do We Go from Here? How Will Public Officials Govern After the Incivility of the 2012 Campaign?”  between Karen Hobert Flynn of Common Cause, former U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, and veteran political television reporter Tom Monahan, on Thursday, Oct. 25, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., in Wilde Auditorium at the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford.

Rell, a Republican and the state’s second female governor, served as the 87th Governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. She was Lt. Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004 and a Connecticut State Representative from 1985 to 1995.

            Johnson served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007 and in the Connecticut State Senate from 1977 to 1982.

            Monahan, now semi-retired, is chief political correspondent for NBC Connecticut, has more than 30 years experience and is recognized as one of Connecticut’s premiere political reporters, having won three Emmy Awards and a Silver Circle Award.

            Flynn, vice president for state operations at Common Cause Connecticut, has been involved with the nonprofit, nonpartisan citizens lobby organization for more than two decades, as a member of the national staff, a volunteer leader, and a state executive director. Under her leadership, Common Cause helped get a number of reforms passed in Connecticut, including campaign finance and ethics laws.

The panel discussion will be the inaugural program of the Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford. Admission is free and open to the public but tickets are required. To order tickets, please call 860.768.4228.

The Rell Center for Public Service was established at the University of Hartford in 2011 to instruct and encourage integrity and responsible participation in government and public service, traits characterized by the life and career of Governor M. Jodi Rell. The Center will offer lectures, panel discussions, symposia, and forums on important local and regional issues. Teaching and learning opportunities will include internships and service-learning in government and public service as well as research and scholarly inquiry on the nature of integrity in government and public life.

Chartered in 1957 with the mission to be a “private university with a public purpose,” the University of Hartford offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in the arts, humanities, business, engineering and technology, education, and the health professions. The University’s student body of about 7,000 represents 45 states and nearly 60 countries. For more information, visit www.hartford.edu.