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The first in what will be an annual series of public events celebrating the life of the late Charlie Ross will feature a panel discussion of prominent figures in the public eye. "Politics and the Public Trust: In Search of the Next Generation of Civic Heroes" will take place on March 14 at 4 p.m. in Ira Allen Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

The moderator will be Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Research. Panelists will include: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., attorney, author, and environmental activist; Adam Clymer, long-time Washington correspondent for the New York Times and currently visiting scholar at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania; U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Madeleine May Kunin, former Vermont Governor, Ambassador to Switzerland, and Deputy U.S. Secretary of Education, and currently distinguished visiting professor at the University of Vermont and St. Michael's College; and Frank Bryan, UVM political science professor.

Charlie Ross was one of the most influential and respected Vermont public servants of his generation, having been appointed to positions of public trust under presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. He was appointed chairman of the Vermont Public Service Board in 1959, and President John F. Kennedy named him a commissioner on the Federal Power Commission (known today as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) in 1961. In this capacity, Ross earned a reputation as a strong advocate for consumers, environmental protection, and the public interest. President Kennedy also appointed him to the International Joint Commission (Canadian-American) in 1962, a position he held for the next 18 years. His 1965 dissenting opinion in a case involving protection of the Hudson River established a critical legal foundation for the environmental movement. He and his fellow commissioners also began the process of cleaning up the Great Lakes, and he played a pivotal role in ensuring that the waterway of Lake Champlain would remain free-flowing, which is crucial to the ecosystem of the basin.

Ross and his family returned to Vermont in 1968, and he taught public policy at the University of Vermont for two years in the early '70s. He died in April 2003. The annual celebration of his life is made possible by two of his former students who were inspired by the example of his devotion to public service.

The Panelists

Frank Bryan
A professor of political science at the University of Vermont, Frank Bryan is known throughout New England as both a serious scholar and a humorist. Yankee Magazine named him one of New Englands leading humorists, and the Boston Globe credited him with writing one of the most original political analyses ever written about New England.

Adam Clymer
Adam Clymer is a visiting scholar at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Working in the centers Washington office, he serves as political director of the National Annenberg Election Survey, a huge election poll for which he is public spokesman and a chief data analyst. Clymer retired in July 2004 as chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times, where he covered major issues in government and politics from privacy to campaign finance.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
An environmental lawyer and activist, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was named one of Time magazine's Heroes for the Planet for his success in helping Riverkeeper, a nonprofit group devoted to protecting New Yorks Hudson River, lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. His reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful legal actions. The New York City Watershed Agreement, which he negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development.

Madeleine M. Kunin
Madeleine Kunin is president of the board of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a non-governmental organization she founded in 1991, and a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Vermont and St. Michaels College. Previously she was the bicentennial fellow in residence at Middlebury College. She served as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland (199699), where she facilitated the return of Swiss bank account funds to holocaust survivors; deputy U.S. Secretary of Education (199396), where she served on the presidents management council; and three-term governor of Vermont (19851991). She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy was elected to the United States Senate in 1974 and remains the only Democrat elected to this office from Vermont. He is the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, a senior member of the Agriculture and Appropriations Committees, and ranks seventh in seniority in the Senate. As a leading member of the Appropriations Committee, Leahy is the Ranking Member of the Committee's Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and also sits on its Defense, Interior, VA-HUD, Commerce-Justice-State, and Homeland Security subcommittees. Active on human rights issues, Leahy also has been the leading U.S. officeholder in the international campaign against the production, export and use of anti-personnel landmines. Ranked among the top environmental legislators by the nation's foremost conservation organizations, Leahy helped secure more than $70 million in federal funds to clean up Lake Champlain and has spearheaded congressional efforts to tackle the dangers of mercury pollution.

Credit Pacific Service Union Norman J. Ornstein
Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, one of the countrys largest and most respected think tanks. He also serves as an election analyst for CBS News, contributes regularly to USA Today, and writes a weekly column, Congress Inside Out, for the Roll Call newspaper. In 1997 and 1998, he was co-chair of the presidents advisory committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters with Leslie Moonves, president of CBS television. Ornstein currently leads a major effort to reform the campaign financing system.

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