Jeb Bush to give lecture at MMC Jan. 31

Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush will give a talk Thursday, Jan. 31, in the MARC Pavilion at Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

It is scheduled for 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public. A ticket is required for admission. The event will also be streamed live.

The talk is part of  “Conversations with Florida Leaders,” presented by the Reubin O’D. Askew Institute at the University of Florida and FIU’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The two universities hope to make it an on-going lecture series of informal talks with Florida leaders that tell the story of the state’s political, social and economic transformation.

“Having former Florida Governor Jeb Bush come to FIU is an invaluable opportunity for our students to learn about Florida’s major challenges from one of the state’s most important governors,” said John Stack, executive director of SIPA and associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Jeb Bush moved to Florida in the early 1980s as a real estate developer and broker. In 1987 and 1988, he held his first government post as Florida’s secretary of commerce. Bush made his first run for public office as the Republican candidate for the state’s governorship in 1994. He lost the election by a small margin to Governor Lawton Chiles. Bush was victorious on his second try in 1998 and his bid for re-election in 2002. Leaving the governorship in 2007 after eight years in office, Bush will be remembered for his work on the state’s education system, environmental protection and the economy.

The Jan. 31 lecture is hosted by President Mark B. Rosenberg, sponsored by the Ruth K. and Shepard Broad Distinguished Lecture Series, and co-sponsored by the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies.

By Evelyn S. Perez