Indiana State University Newsroom

Former presidential advisor David Axelrod will kick off the second half of the 2014-15 University Speakers Series at Indiana State University at 7 p.m. Feb. 5 in Tilson Auditorium. His topic will be "Witness to History:Leadership Lessons from a Presidential Advisor."

From the financial crisis and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the fight for health care reform and the unsettled situation in the Middle East, the Obama Administration has been faces with issues of enormous consequences. As President Obama's senior advisor, Axelrod worked 20 feet from the Oval Office and gives audiences a behind-the-scenes look at life in the White House and what he has learned from his experiences on the world stage.

Axelrod served as senior strategist to President Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012, as senior advisor for the Obama-Biden transition and senior advisor to Obama during his first two years as president. He had previously served as a top political advisor to President Clinton.

He is now director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and is a senior political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He was recently inducted into The American Association of Political Consultants' Hall of Fame.

During his time at the White House, Axelrod was the administration's most frequent presence on the influential Sunday television talk shows. He also appeared several times on "The Tonight Show," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Late Show with David Letterman" just to name a few.

From 1988 to 2008, Axelrod was the founder and senior partner at the consulting firm AKPD Message and Media, based in Chicago. In that capacity, he managed media strategy and communications for more than 150 local, state and national campaigns, with a focus on progressive candidates and causes.

In 2006, Axelrod ran the independent expenditure media program for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, helping Democrats regain the majority in the House of Representatives. That same year, Axelrod served as media adviser to Deval Patrick, who was elected Massachusetts's first Democratic governor in 16 years and the state's first African-American governor. In 2004, when President Obama was a member of the Illinois state senate, Axelrod helped him defeat a primary field of six other Democrats and go on to a landslide win in his U.S. Senate campaign.

Before entering politics in 1984, Axelrod spent eight years as a reporter for The Chicago Tribune, where he covered national, state and local politics. In 1981, he became the youngest political writer and columnist in the paper's history. He also served as the Tribune's City Hall bureau chief.

Active in charitable work in Chicago, Axelrod has supported Special Olympics and Misericordia. In 1998, he and his wife, Susan, helped found Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), which has raised more than $26 million for scientists searching for a cure.

Like all University Speakers Series events, Axelrod's appearance at Indiana State is free and open to the public. No tickets are required.

Photo: http://www.indstate.edu/speaker/photodownload/Axelrod-original.jpg

Media contact: Dave Taylor, media relations director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu