Political analyst Bill Kristol to serve as W&M's fall 2019 Andrews Fellow
Bill Kristol, a political analyst who once served on the staffs of presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, has been selected as William & Mary’s fall 2019 Hunter B. Andrews Fellow in American Politics.
Kristol will be on campus Oct. 24-25 to meet with faculty, staff and students and to present a public lecture. Free and open to the public, the lecture will take place at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Commonwealth Auditorium of the Sadler Center. People interested in attending should register online.
“The Hunter Andrews Fellowship provides William & Mary students remarkable access to and insight into some of the nation’s most pressing and important conversations,” said President Katherine A. Rowe. “Our students appreciate this opportunity to hear firsthand about the inner workings of American democracy. We are grateful Mr. Kristol has generously offered his time and experience to our students and extend to him a warm welcome to our campus.”
The fellowship was created in 1998 in honor of Hunter B. Andrews, a William & Mary alumnus and Board of Visitors member who died in 2005. During Andrews’ 32 years as a Virginia state senator, he served as its majority leader and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
A popular political author and commentator, Kristol has helped shape the national debate on issues ranging from American foreign policy to the meaning of American conservatism. He was a founder of the Weekly Standard, editing the news magazine for more than two decades.
Kristol is also a founding director of Defending Democracy Together, a conservative advocacy organization whose mission includes “defending America’s democratic norms, values and institutions, and fighting for consistent conservative principles like rule of law, free trade and expanding legal immigration.”
Early in his career, Kristol worked in Reagan’s administration under Secretary of Education William Bennett and was chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle during George H.W. Bush’s time in office.
“Mr. Kristol offers a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to national issues,” said Provost Peggy Agouris. “His visit promises to deepen the critical role higher education plays in providing students with opportunities to hear and analyze a variety of viewpoints held by some of the most influential people in the country. We look forward to having him.”
Before coming to Washington, Kristol taught politics at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. He received an undergraduate degree and Ph.D. from Harvard.
Previous Andrews Fellows have included journalist, author and Supreme Court scholar Linda Greenhouse; former Virginia Sen. John Warner; the late Gwen Ifill, co-anchor of PBS’ “NewsHour;” former Virginia Gov. Gerald Baliles; Michael Gerson, a Washington Post columnist and former presidential speechwriter; and Soledad O’Brien, award-winning journalist and documentarian.
