Former Massachusetts governor, presidential candidate to speak
Michael Dukakis to share experiences, advice
Michael Dukakis fulfilled his responsibility to the United States by dedicating his life to public service. Dukakis will speak to the public at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Dole Institute.
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Michael Dukakis said that, as the son of Greek immigrants, he had always felt a special responsibility to the United States. Dukakis, former Massachusetts governor and 1988 presidential candidate, fulfilled that responsibility with a life dedicated to public service. He shares his experiences at “An Evening with Michael Dukakis” tonight at 7:30 at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
Dukakis said he was proud to be part of a nation of immigrants and the most open political system in the world.
Dukakis graduated from Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, and served in the U.S. Army. In 1978, Dukakis was elected as the Massachusetts governor, and he brought the state out of a period of record-high unemployment and a severe economic crisis. Dukakis said he thoroughly enjoyed his career in public service.
“There’s nothing like it; it has to be the highest calling,” Dukakis said. “And there’s no reason why you can’t maintain a high standard of integrity in public service.”
Dukakis said he encouraged his students to pursue careers in public and community service, but not if a large salary was a priority.
“If you want to make a lot of money, don’t go into public service,” Dukakis said.
Clarissa Unger, Dole Institute student assistant and Colby junior, said Dukakis would be a wealth of information for the presidential election because he was a candidate himself. She also said Dukakis had an incredible record as the Governor of Massachusetts and it would be interesting to hear how he turned things around for his state.
With his experience in the 1988 presidential campaign trail, Dukakis said he would visit about the upcoming election. He said campaigning had become such a drawn-out process that, as a candidate, it became very impersonal hearing yourself say the same things over and over. He said if he was running for president he would employ the tactics of former Vice President Al Gore or former President Bill Clinton: riding through the nation, stopping in communities to personally meet the voters.
Today, Dukakis teaches one semester at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, and one semester at the University of California in Los Angeles. He said he thought the nation was turning out some of its strongest students right now, and he enjoyed working with those who were active in public and community service.
Barbara Ballard, Dole Institute Associate Director of Outreach, said she would ask Dukakis a variety of questions to help the public see both the personal and professional side of Governor Dukakis.
“I think when we say ‘evening with Michael Dukakis’ we want people to leave knowing a lot more than when they came in,” Ballard said. “We want to give people a global picture of Michael Dukakis.”
Ballard said although Dukakis had strong name recognition, many people only knew one side of him. She said few people realized his many roles as the Massachusetts governor, a presidential candidate, a son of Greek immigrants, a university professor and that he held law degree from Harvard. Ballard said his commitment to public service was highly commendable.
“How did he come to dedicate his whole live to public service?” Ballard said. “It’s the trying that is important.”
Dukakis said he looked forward to visiting with the audience at the Dole Institute tonight. He said one thing that didn’t come through in the campaigns was his great sense of humor.
“Humor isn’t encouraged in the campaigns for some reason,” Dukakis said. “But it will be in full display at KU.”
Tonight’s event is free and open to the public.
Edited by Meghan Murphy
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