In a program sponsored by the W.O. Farber Center for Civic Leadership and the USD Political Science League, Walsh, U.S. News & World Report Chief White House Correspondent, will discuss everything from campaign strategies to the current presidency of Barack Obama in his program, “The Barack Obama Presidency: New Directions, New Challenges and a Historical Perspective,” at 4 p.m. at Farber Hall in Old Main.

Walsh is former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and he has taught advanced courses as an adjunct professor of communication at American University in Washington, D.C. During his career at U.S. News & World Report, he served as deputy national editor for two years in addition to holding his White House position, supervising a staff of a dozen reporters, editing their copy, and directing their work in conjunction with the national editor.

The author of four books, “From Mount Vernon to Crawford: A History of the Presidents and Their Retreats” (2005); “Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes” (2003); “Feeding the Beast: The White House Versus the Press” (second edition, 2002), and “Ronald Reagan: Biography” (1997), Walsh received the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Coverage of the Presidency in 1992, 1998 and 2009, and the Aldo Beckman Award in 1991 and 2007. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2009, and he was awarded the Fitzwater Prize for Leadership in Public Communication by the Fitzwater Center at Franklin Pierce College in 2006.

Prior to joining U.S. News & World Report in 1984 to cover Congress and politics, Walsh was Washington correspondent, chief political writer, political columnist, assistant city editor, and Statehouse correspondent for the Denver Post. Additionally, he worked for the Associated Press in Denver from 1972 to 1976.

A New York City native, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1968 from Rutgers University, and a master’s in communication from American University. Following graduate school, he spent nearly two years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He and his wife, Barclay, live in Bethesda, Md. They have two grown children, Jean and Chris.

A photo of Walsh is available for download at www.usd.edu/press/news/images/releases/Ken_Walsh.jpg.

For more information about this event, which is free and open to the public, or for information about the W.O. Farber Center for Civic Leadership, please contact the Farber Center at (605) 677-5702 or e-mail Farber.Center@usd.edu.

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