For Immediate Release

9/20/06

CONTACT:
PA Senate Republican Communications
(717) 787-6725

"PA Politics Symposium" Part of 5-Day "Centennial Days" Celebration at Capitol

HARRISBURG -- One hundred years of political history in the Commonwealth will be the topic of a "Pennsylvania Politics Symposium" at the State Capitol on Monday, October 2.  The 7 p.m. event, to be held in the chamber of the House of Representatives, is part of a five-day "Centennial Days" celebration marking the 100th birthday of the Capitol.

Charlene Mires, an associate professor of history at Villanova University, former newspaper editor and a co-recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, will moderate the panel, which will include five other exceptional Pennsylvania scholars and authors.  Each panelist will address approximately two decades of political history starting in 1906 and continuing through 2006.  A question-and-answer session will follow each segment.

The other panelists include:

• 1906-1926:  David R. Contosta, Ph.D., a professor of history at Chestnut Hill College and a Fulbright Scholar who has written more than a dozen books on Pennsylvania history and other topics;

• 1927-1947:  Jack Treadway, Ph.D., a professor of political science and department chair at Kutztown University who wrote "Elections in Pennsylvania," a comprehensive history of Pennsylvania politics;

• 1948-1968:  Michael Birkner, Ph.D., a professor of history and department chair at Gettysburg College whose books include a history of James Buchanan, Pennsylvania's only president;

• 1969-1989:  Vincent P. Carocci, a former state politics reporter, former press secretary for Governor Robert P. Casey, and author of "A Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making of Public Policy in Pennsylvania";

• 1990-2006:  John J. Kennedy, Ph.D., an assistant professor of political science at West Chester University and author of "Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests, 1950-2004" and "The Contemporary Pennsylvania Legislature."

The symposium will be carried live and later rebroadcast by the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN).  Following the program, the audience can meet the panelists at a reception in the Capitol Rotunda.

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and may be obtained by contacting Jeanne Schmedlen via e-mail at jschmedl@pahousegop.com or by fax, (717) 787-5201.  Partners for the program are the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Legislative Office for Research Liaison.

Other events scheduled for the Centennial Days celebration include a Pennsylvania Treasures Parade through downtown Harrisburg (11 a.m., Sat., Sept. 30); a Kids Expo and Treasure Hunt at the Capitol (noon to 3 p.m., Sun., Oct. 1); an Ecumenical Church Service of Rededication at Grace United Methodist Church, 216 State Street (3:30 p.m., Sun., Oct. 1); a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the newly constructed Rare Collections Library housed in the State Library (10 a.m., Tue., Oct. 3); a Rededication Ceremony at the Capitol with award-winning historian and best-selling author Michael Beschloss as keynote speaker and a reenactor depicting President Theodore Roosevelt (noon, Wed., Oct. 4); and a Centennial Gala at the Capitol (6 to 9 p.m., Wed., Oct. 4).

WINK 104 (104.1 FM) is the exclusive radio station for up-to-date information regarding the Capitol Treasures Parade, Capitol Treasure Hunt and Kids Expo.

For up-to-date information on the Centennial Days celebration or details about visiting the Capitol, go to www.pacapitol.com.

The events are sponsored by the bipartisan Pennsylvania Capitol Centennial Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll, Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer and Speaker of the House of Representatives John M. Perzel.

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