August 21, 2012

Mark Shields

Davidson College invites the public to a Labor Day talk on Monday, September 3, by nationally recognized columnist and PBS commentator Mark Shields. Shields, who has covered 11 presidential elections and attended 17 national party conventions, will provide a synopsis of the current electoral race in his lecture "2012 -- The Presidency."

The talk will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room. There is no charge to attend and no tickets are necessary. For information call 704-894-2135.

Since 1988 Shields has appeared regularly on Friday's PBS Newshour, most recently with David Brooks of The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal has called Shields "the wittiest political analyst around and frequently the most trenchant, fair-minded and thoughtful."

Before his work with PBS he served as moderator and commentator for 17 years on CNN's weekly political talk show "Capital Gang." He has taught political science courses at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Georgetown University's Graduate School of Public Policy, and he was a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy Institute of Politics.

Shields has been a writer for The Washington Post, and worked in Washington through the administration of nine U.S. Presidents. He graduated from Notre Dame University and served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college. 
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