By Cody Heintz, Staff Writer

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, currently a senior presidential fellow with the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, will be the honoree and speaker  at the University’s 2010 undergraduate commencement ceremony.

Working with the Kalikow Center, Dean has participated in many discussions and events with Hofstra over the past year, visiting many classes on campus to talk with students about today’s current issues, like health care.

Dean was the Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. He most recently served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009.  Before becoming governor, He served in the Vermont House of Representatives and was Lieutenant Governor. He currently works with the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency at Hofstra as a Senior Presidential Fellow.

Dean is also a physician who earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is an alumnus of Yale University. Dean was first elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1982 and was elected to the position of Lieutenant Governor in 1986. His positions in the House and as Lieutenant Governor were only part-time and allowed to him to continue practicing medicine.

Dean became governor in 1991 when then-current Gov. Richard Snelling died of heart failure.  During his tenure as governor, Dean was seen to be a moderate who increased insurance coverage to kids through the “Dr. Dynasaur” program, yet gained endorsements by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Dean generated controversy in 2000, when he signed the Nation’s first civil unions legislation into law. Despite losing his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, he was elected to become Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As Chairman, he instituted the  “Fifty-State Strategy” which helped the Democrats win the majority in the House and Senate in 2006 and to gain more seats in the 2008 elections.

Dean has done many discussions and events with the University over the past year as Senior Fellow for the Kalikow Center. He has visited classes on campus to discuss today’s current issues like health care. 

“[Dean was] very well-spoken, humble and approachable,” said junior Solon Stephanou. ” If you ask him about going into Politics, he will give you advice.”

“It was great that students could talk to someone informed about current issues,” said political science professor Richard Himelfarb.

Dean often led discussions with former Republican Strategist and Kalikow Senior Presidential Fellow Edward Rollins such as the  “How Will the 2010 Elections Change American Politics?” Dean most recently participated in a panel evaluating media coverage of the Obama presidency in April. Dean has talked with WHRU three times and has talked with the Political Science Club on campus.

“[Dean] has enriched the curriculum,” said chair of the political science department Rosanna Perotti.