Thornberry to speak at MSU's Prof Edwards Series

U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, will be the guest speaker at Midwestern State University Monday, Oct. 22, as part of the Prof Edwards Discussions in Politics Series. The discussion will begin at 1 p.m. in Akin Auditorium.

Dr. Steve Garrison, chair of the Department of Political Science, said that the discussion will focus on the role of armed services and U.S. Defense Policy in a changing world. A question and answer session will follow Thornberry's speech.

Thornberry was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and represents the 13th Congressional District, a large district of more than 40 counties including the Panhandle and North Texas west to a portion of Cooke County. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Armed Services Committee where he leads the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats. He also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Last year, Thornberry was chosen by the Speaker of the House to lead a Cybersecurity Task Force to guide legislative action on this topic. Six months before Sept. 11, 2001, he introduced a bill to create a Department of Homeland Security. That was signed into law 20 months later.

This is the fourth year for the Prof Edwards Discussions in Politics Series. The event was named in memory of former MSU Political Science Professor (1923-1958) and Board of Regents member (1993) Atticus F. "Prof" Edwards. The discussions were begun to build on Edwards' desire to promote collegial discussions in politics between faculty, students, and the community in an informal setting, and to spark interest in the important issues facing the campus, city, state, country, and world. Past topics of the Prof Edwards Series include voting, Asian policies, and the Constitution 10 years after Sept. 11, 2011.

For more information, call Garrison at (940) 397-6282.