Herseth Sandlin currently serves as General Counsel and Vice President for Corporate Development for Raven Industries, Inc. Prior to joining Raven, she was a Partner at Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC in Washington, D.C., representing clients on legislative and regulatory matters concerning technology and innovation in agriculture, bioenergy and manufacturing. From 2004-2011, Herseth Sandlin served in the represented South Dakota’s At-Large District in the United States House of Representatives. Prior to serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, she was Executive Director of the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation, taught courses on government and politics at Augustana College and South Dakota State University, and was an Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom L.L.P. in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Groton (S.D.) High School, Herseth Sandlin earned a B.A. and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, and was a law clerk for both the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.

Sandlin is a partner, co-chairman, and general counsel of Mercury and Mercury/Clark & Weinstock, and leads the government relations and public strategies team in Washington, D.C. He served eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives (1997-2005) representing Texas’ 1st Congressional District. Prior to his service in Congress, Sandlin practiced law in Texas and had a broad-based litigation and business practice. He was active in the banking industry and served for a decade on the board of directors of a local bank, and also served as a county judge and county court at law judge in Texas. Married to former South Dakota Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin since 2007, Sandlin is a native of Texarkana, Texas, and received both his bachelor's degree and Juris Doctor from Baylor University.

Miller was elected to Congress in 1992 where he represented Florida’s 13th Congressional District for 10 years. Prior to serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he taught statistics and marketing at the graduate and undergraduate levels at Louisiana State University, Georgia State University and the University of South Florida. A graduate of Manatee High School in Manatee, Fla., Miller received his B.S. degree from the University of Florida, and earned an M.B.A. at Emory University and a Ph.D. in Marketing & Statistics from Louisiana State University. After leaving Congress, Miller returned to academia. In 2003, he was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is currently teaching at the University of South Florida and is developing the Manasota Institute of Public Policy and Leadership at the Sarasota Campus of USF.

All three former members of the United States House of Representatives will present on behalf of the Farber Forum, meet with faculty and students and attend select political science and government classes during the two-day Congress to Campus event.

“Congress to Campus brings very experienced former members of Congress to campus for intensive discussions with students in and outside the classroom,” said Bill Richardson, Ph.D., director of the W.O. Farber Center and chair of the Department of Political Science at USD. “Having Reps. Herseth Sandlin, Sandlin and Miller on campus a week before the election is a tremendous opportunity for our students as these members frequently provide candid views on contemporary public policies, issues and political leaders.”

Miller and Sandlin will present the Farber Forum, “The Role of Congress in the War on Terror,” at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 29 at Farber Hall, inside Old Main, while the Sandlins will present a second Farber Forum, “Past, Present and Future of Congress,” at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Farber Hall. In addition to the presentations, all three former members of Congress will be present on Oct. 30 for Richardson’s Political Theory class. They will also attend classes taught by Political Science Instructor Mary Pat Bierle on Oct. 29, including Introduction to American Government and Political Writing. The Farber Forums are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the W.O. Farber Center for Civic Leadership at (605) 677-5702 or e-mail [email protected].

About the W.O. Farber Center for Civic Leadership

The W.O. Farber Center for Civic Leadership offers the Civic Leadership Studies program, a 21-hour minor designed to complement any major at The U. The program combines academic instruction, enrichment opportunities, and civic leadership experience, with an emphasis on major theories of leadership and citizenship, the dynamics between leaders and followers, the impact of differing cultural, social, gender, ethnic, religious, and political views on civic leadership, the uses and misuses of power that can occur in leadership situations and the role of ethics and law in framing and resolving civic problems.

Press Contact
Hanna DeLange
Contact Email [email protected]
Contact Website website