The second in an annual series of public events celebrating the life of the late Charlie Ross will feature a panel discussion of prominent figures in the public eye. "The Media and the Public Trust: The Making and Breaking of Political Heroes" will take place Tuesday, April 25, at 4 p.m. in the University of Vermont's Ira Allen Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

The moderator will be Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Research.

Panelists will include:

• Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, whose run for president in the 2004 national election stands as a signal event in modern presidential campaigns for its innovative use of the Internet in grassroots organizing, and for the role of mainstream media in shaping public perceptions of a candidate's messages and style;

• Howard Fineman, chief political correspondent for Newsweek magazine and contributor of political commentary for national television and radio programs including Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Today Show, Dateline NBC, and Imus in the Morning;

• Ron Kaufman, for the past 25 years an advisor to Republican presidents, governors, members of Congress, and appointed officials beginning in 1978 with the presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush and later as national political director of the Republican National Committee during the presidency of Ronald Reagan;

• Dotty Lynch, former senior political editor of CBS News and currently fellow at the JFK School of Government at Harvard and a consultant to CBS News;

• Howard Wolfson, a former communications director for senators Hilary Clinton and Charles Schumer and currently a partner at The Glover Park Group, communications consultants.

Admission to the event will be on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required. Parking will be available in the Catamount East parking lot behind the Sheraton Hotel, with shuttle service running between the parking lot and Ira Allen Chapel from 3 to 7 p.m.

Those planning to attend can assist the moderator in framing questions for the panel by completing the pre-event online questionnaire.

The annual celebration of the life of Charlie Ross is made possible by two of his former students who were inspired by the example of his devotion to public service. Topics for the annual tribute are selected to honor his memory by highlighting public service and the garnering of the public trust as essential to the functioning of a healthy democratic society.

Charlie Ross was one of the most influential and well respected Vermont public servants of his generation, having been appointed to positions of public trust under presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. He was appointed chairman of the Vermont Public Service Board in 1959, and President John F. Kennedy named him a commissioner on the Federal Power Commission (known today as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) in 1961. In this capacity, Ross earned a reputation as a strong advocate for consumers, environmental protection, and the public interest. President Kennedy also appointed him to the International Joint Commission (Canadian-American) in 1962, a position he held for the next 18 years. His 1965 dissenting opinion in a case involving protection of the Hudson River established a critical legal foundation for the environmental movement. He and his fellow commissioners also began the process of cleaning up the Great Lakes, and he played a pivotal role in ensuring that the waterway of Lake Champlain would remain free-flowing, which is crucial to the ecosystem of the basin.

Ross and his family returned to Vermont in 1968, and he taught public policy at the University of Vermont for two years in the early '70s. He died in April 2003.

The Panelists (biographical summaries supplied by the participants)

Howard Dean

As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean is making the Democratic Party competitive in every race, in every district, in every state and territory, while integrating national and state party operations and standing up for Democrats' core values. His election to this post on February 12, 2005, is the most recent chapter in a life dedicated to shaping the future of the Democratic Party.

Most recently, after achieving national prominence in his bid for the Democratic nomination for president, Governor Dean founded Democracy for America in 2004 to build on the groundswell of support and the wave of new energy sweeping the Party. And since that time, Democracy for America has been working with the grassroots to elect fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates to all levels of government — local, state, and federal — all over the country.

The breadth of Governor Dean's political experience has given him a unique perspective. He began his political career in the early 1980s as the Chittenden County (Vermont) Democratic Party chair. In 1983, Dean was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He was then elected lieutenant governor in 1986 and was re-elected in 1988 and 1990. He became Vermont's governor upon the death of Governor Richard A. Snelling on August 14, 1991.

Elected to a full term in November, 1992, Governor Dean was re-elected four more times and created a record based on fiscally conservative principles that promoted equality and opportunity for all the citizens of Vermont. Under his leadership, Vermont paid down its debt and by 2001 enjoyed a $100 million surplus. Through his innovative health care plan, 96 percent of Vermont's children now have health care coverage, and more than a third of Vermont's Medicare recipients receive state help in paying for their prescription drugs. His "Success by Six" program ensures that more resources like day-care and home nurses are available to parents if they need them. With strong support from Governor Dean, Vermont officials instituted an Interactive Learning Network that wired almost all the state's high schools, even in the most rural areas.

Governor Dean's successes prompted Governing magazine to proclaim him "Public Official of the Year" in 2002. Dean's leadership roles also include turns as chairman of the National Governors' Association, the Democratic Governors' Association, and the New England Governors' Conference.

Before entering politics, Dean received a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978. Upon completing his residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, he went on to practice internal medicine in Shelburne, Vermont. He is married to Dr. Judy Steinberg, and they have two children, Anne and Paul.

Howard Fineman

Howard Fineman is Newsweek's chief political correspondent, senior editor, and deputy Washington Bureau chief. An award-winning writer and commentator, Fineman also is an NBC News Analyst, contributing reports to NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, and is a regular guest on the Imus in the Morning radio show. The author of scores of Newsweek cover stories, he has also published articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the New Republic. His "Living Politics" column appears each week on the MSNBC.com and Newsweek.com Web sites.

As Newsweek's lead political reporter, Fineman has interviewed and written about every major presidential candidate since 1984, focusing in recent years on the roots, rise, and presidency of George W. Bush. A cover story Fineman wrote in late November 2001 featured the president's first extensive post-9/11 interview — an interview in which Bush first hinted that he would target Saddam Hussein. Another Fineman cover story, "Bush and God," was the top-selling issue of 2003 and part of a Newsweek entry that won the National Magazine Award for "general excellence" that year. His work on the 2004 presidential campaign helped the magazine win another nomination in that category.

As a reporter and writer, Fineman ranges widely. While he has written dozens of campaign cover stories, his other covers have included: the rise of the religious right; the power of talk radio; race and politics; the Pledge of Allegiance controversy; the impact of digital technology on society; and the influence of Hollywood on American politics. He has interviewed many business leaders — among them Bill Gates, Steve Case, Steve Ballmer, Robert Rubin and Ted Turner — and entertainment personalities such as Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Jay Leno, and Rush Limbaugh. Overseas, Fineman has reported for the magazine or MSNBC from China, Vietnam, and the U.K.

Although Fineman now reports exclusively on television for NBC, he has appeared on most major news and public affairs programs, including Nightline, Face the Nation, Larry King Live, Fox News Sunday, Charlie Rose, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He was a regular panelist on PBS's Washington Week in Review from 1983-95, and CNN's Capital Gang Sunday from 1995-98. He also worked with Ted Koppel on Nightline special reports on Ross Perot and Pat Robertson.

A native of Pittsburgh, Fineman began his journalism career in 1973 at The Louisville Courier Journal, covering the environment, the coal industry, and Kentucky politics before joining the newspaper's Washington bureau in 1978. He joined Newsweek in 1980 and was named chief political correspondent in 1984, deputy Washington Bureau chief in 1993, and senior editor in 1995.

Fineman holds an AB, Phi Beta Kappa, from Colgate, an MS in journalism from Columbia, and a JD from the University of Louisville. His legal education included a year at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received Watson and Pulitzer Traveling Fellowships for study in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. He lives in Washington with his wife, Amy L. Nathan, an attorney, and their two children.

Ron Kaufman

Ron Kaufman has served as an advisor over the last 25 years to Republican Presidents, Governors, Members of Congress, and a host of elected and appointed officials at every level of government. Starting his career in national politics in 1978 with the campaign for President of George H.W. Bush, he has held major political posts in the White House and in the Republican Party.

After working as a National Political Operative for the 1980 Bush for President campaign, Kaufman went on to serve President Reagan as Regional then National Political Director of the Republican National Committee and was appointed the National Campaign Director for Vice President Bush's 1984 reelection campaign.

Following the 1984 electoral landslide, Kaufman helped George H.W. Bush lay the political foundation for his successful 1988 presidential run by founding the Vice President's PAC and running the primary campaign in New Hampshire. After the victory on election day, he was asked by President Bush to serve as a top advisor in the White House, initially as White House Personnel Director and then as Assistant to the President and the White House Political Director.

Since joining the Dutko team in 1994, Kaufman has helped lead the firm's federal practice while also launching the firm's innovative state and local government affairs practice, Kaufman*Nelson*Pattee (KNP), now Dutko State and Local. Under his leadership, Dutko became the only firm in Washington capable of offering clients a 50 state public affairs strategy — especially important at a time when decision making was moving from the federal government to the states. Currently, Kaufman is actively involved in establishing Dutko's overseas operations: Dutko Global Advisors.

In addition to his duties at Dutko Worldwide, he is the Republican National Committeeman for Massachusetts, serves as Chair of the RNC Budget committee, and as a member of the Rules Committee, Executive Committee, and Convention Site Selection Committee. He is also active with the Republican Governor's Association, where he is the Co-Chair of the Finance Committee. Kaufman continues to serve as an advisor to former President Bush.

Kaufman has two daughters and maintains homes in Boston and Washington.

Dotty Lynch

Dotty Lynch is a fellow at the JFK School of Government at Harvard teaching a study group of the 2006 Midterm Elections and the Institute of Politics. She is also a consultant to CBS News, where she writes a weekly column, Political Points, for CBSNews.com and does analysis for CBS Radio. In addition, she is on the Advisory Board of CQ Politcs.com.

Dotty Lynch stepped down at the end of 2005 as the Senior Political Editor of CBS News, where she covered politics for twenty years. Lynch began her career in politics and journalism at NBC News in 1968 and joined the polling firm of Cambridge Survey Research in 1972, where she worked on the polling for the Presidential campaigns of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter and for many Senate and Gubernatorial campaigns. In 1980 she took a leave of absence to work on the Presidential campaign of Sen. Edward Kennedy. In the 1980s Lynch developed the concept of the gender gap and is one of the major authorities on the topic of women in politics. In 1983 she opened Lynch Research, a political polling firm where she was the first women pollster in a Presidential campaign-the Gary Hart Presidential race and the Mondale Ferraro general election.

The 2004 election marked Lynch's 10th Presidential campaign as a professional journalist and pollster at CBS News, where she covered 5 Presidential campaigns, 10 national Political conventions, 18 Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates, and 5 midterm elections. Lynch was the co-director of the Election and Survey Unit, where she managed a team of researchers to provide information and analysis to all TV broadcasts (CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, Face the Nation, The Early Show), CBS Radio, and most recently CBS news.com. In 2004 Lynch negotiated the final Democratic Presidential primary debate, the first Presidential debate sponsored by CBS News since 1984.

Lynch worked extensively on political broadcasts with CBS correspondents including Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl, Bob Schieffer, Ed Bradley, Charles Kuralt, Mike Wallace, and Diane Sawyer and interviewed prominent American leaders including Presidents George H.W Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dan Quayle, and virtually all Presidential candidates, major Cabinet officials and Congressional and political leaders since 1985. Lynch often appears on C-Span, the News Hour with Jim Lehrer and NPR as well as CBS Radio.

Norman J. Ornstein (moderator)

Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, one of the country's largest and most respected “think tanks.” He also serves as an election analyst for CBS News, contributes regularly to USA Today, and writes a weekly column, “Congress Inside Out,” for the Roll Call newspaper. In 1997 and 1998, he was co-chair of the president's advisory committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters with Leslie Moonves, president of CBS television.

Ornstein currently leads a major effort to reform the campaign financing system; the New York Times referred to him as a scholar “who helped draft the new law” that was enacted in 2002. He also co-directs a multi-year effort, the Transition to Governing Project, to create a better climate for governing in the era of the permanent campaign. He is senior counselor to the Continuity of Government Commission, to ensure the continuation of our institutions of governance in the event of a terrorist attack on Washington, and he is a member of the board of directors of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and of the board of trustees of the United States Capitol Historical Society.

A frequent writer for the New York Times, Washington Post, and other major newspapers, Ornstein is also the author of Lessons and Legacies: Farewell Addresses From the United States Senate; and Debt and Taxes: How America Got into Its Budget Mess and What to Do About It, with John H. Makin. He has won the National Capitol Area Political Science Association's Pi Sigma Alpha Award and was co-winner (with Tom Mann) of the Policy Studies Organization's Hubert H. Humphrey Award.

Ornstein earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan.

Howard Wolfson

A Partner at The Glover Park Group, Howard Wolfson heads the firm's New York office. He joined GPG after serving as Executive Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for two years. At the DCCC, he oversaw advertising in over 40 media markets and was responsible for a $50 million budget. He also provided strategic, political and campaign advice on a daily basis to all Democratic House members.

Prior to the DCCC, Wolfson served as Communications Director for the campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000. He traveled extensively with Clinton throughout New York State and managed the campaign's research, policy and communications departments. During the campaign he made numerous television appearances on shows including Meet the Press, This Week and Larry King Live.

Wolfson was Communications Director for then Representative Charles Schumer's 1998 Senate campaign, developing and implementing extensive political, advertising and press strategies. He had previously served as Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to Representative Nita Lowey.

Wolfson graduated from the University of Chicago and subsequently earned a Masters in US History from Duke University. A New York native, he now splits his time between New York and Washington, DC, with his wife Terri.