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Panel on American presidents offers the good, bad and ugly

A historical, political and communications perspective on the American presidents provided much conversation Feb. 20 at “The American Presidents: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly” panel discussion at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University in Romeoville. The panel included Dr. David Anderson, chair and professor of , Dr. Joseph Gaziano, professor of , Br. John Vietoris, chair and associate professor of .

Panelists began by explaining the context of good, bad and ugly. “A problem with our perception of presidents is that we judge presidents subjectively rather than objectively. We have to look at the good and bad of presidents in terms of their accomplishments and what they envisioned,” said Gaziano.

The panelists also shared their insights about particular presidents. Vietoris said, “I would consider Franklin D. Roosevelt a valuable president in American history. FDR was able to bring encouragement, persuasion and hope to the American people after the Great Depression.”

Anderson praised the communication methods of Theodore Roosevelt. “Theodore Roosevelt would be a good president right now. Roosevelt represented America, not just a political party and he also talked about issues like social class and vicious politics that are still present in today’s world.”

This event was sponsored by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha. It was presented as a part of ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University’s Arts & Ideas Program, providing cultural and educational programming for students and the community. A portion of the Arts & Ideas events is sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. For additional information, please contact Dr. Michael Cunningham, Director of Arts & Ideas, at (815) 836-5385.

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University is a Catholic university offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 6,500 traditional and adult students. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally aware, and socially responsible graduates. The ninth largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report.