EVENT: Peaceful Transitions of Power – Protecting Our Democracy – October 8th

What: A panel discussion moderated by AU President Sylvia Burwell, featuring Joshua Bolten, chief of staff for President George W. Bush; John Podesta, chief of staff for President Bill Clinton and David Marchick, dean of the Kogod School of Business and former director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the Partnership for Public Service. The event will discuss vulnerabilities in our system of transitions of power and focus on Dean Marchick’s new book, The Peaceful Transfer of Power: An Oral History of America’s Presidential Transitions.

This event is part of American University’s Conversations on Policy, Politics and Our American Democracy series during AU’s Family Weekend.

When: Saturday, October 8, 2022, 7 p.m. EST 

Where: Bender Arena at American University

              4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW

              Washington, DC 20016

Background: The peaceful transition of power from one president to another has been the defining hallmark of American Democracy since the 18^th century. With the unsettling events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Americans saw firsthand just how crucial transitions are, and how vulnerable this process has become. 

As Marchick notes in his new book, The Peaceful Transfer of Power,  the day-to-day process of presidential transitions is poorly understood, not only by the public but even by government specialists. This event will focus on the history of presidential transitions and lessons learned to enable smooth and peaceful transitions of power in the future.

About the panelists: 

Joshua Bolten is CEO of Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies. He also has twenty years of government service, including eight years in the White House under President George W. Bush as Chief of Staff (2006-09), Director of the Office of Management & Budget (2003-06), and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy (2001-03). For the preceding two years, he was Policy Director of the Bush 2000 presidential campaign. 

Sylvia Burwell is American University’s 15th president. Burwell has held two cabinet positions in the United States government—she served as the 22nd secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2014 to 2017 and as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, working with Congress to negotiate a two-year budget deal following the 2013 government shutdown. In both roles, she was known as a leader who worked successfully across the aisle and focused on delivering results for the American people.

David Marchick is the Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University. He served as Chief Operating Officer of the United States Development Finance Corporation during the first year of the Biden Administration. He also served as Director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the non-profit Partnership for Public Service. He also held several positions within the Clinton Administration, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Transportation Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy at the State Department.

John Podesta is the Senior Advisor to President Biden for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation since September 2022. He is the Founder and former Chair for the Washington, DC-based think tank Center for American Progress and a Founder and former Chair of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. He served as a counselor to President Barack Obama, where he was responsible for coordinating the administration’s climate policy and initiatives. In 2008, he served as co-chair of President Obama’s transition team. He previously served as White House chief of staff to President William J. Clinton. He chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016. 

Media RSVP: To learn more about the panel and to RSVP, please contact AU Communications at [email protected] or (202) 885-5950.

 

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