Southwestern Magazine | Fall 2019

ON OCTOBER 4, 2019, as part of Southwest- ern’s 110th Homecoming, the University welcomed longtime friendsDonna Brazile and MaryMatalin as the guest speakers at the 2019 Roy and Margaret Shilling Lecture. Brazile is a former chair of the Democratic National Committee and fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School; Matalin formerly served as assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney. As friends who do not agree on the issues but value one another for the integrity of their views, Brazile andMatalin serve as exemplars of the civil discourse that Southwestern advocates among its community members. The University’s Shilling Lecture series showcases internationally prominent speakers on topics relating to ethics, public service, and public policy, and this year’s speakers epitomized the spirit of respectful engage- ment that is at the heart of the event. Hosting the Shilling Lecture during Southwestern’s annual homecomingweekend allowed alumni and current parents tomore closely engage in the lifelong-learning opportunity alongside current students and other members of the SU community. The Shilling Lecture was originally established in 1999 by The Brown Founda- tion, Inc., of Houston, to honor Southwestern’s 13th president, Roy B. Shilling Jr., and hiswife, Margaret. This now-biennial event provides an important forum in which the greater Southwestern University community has the opportunity to engagewith ideas frommultiple perspectives, hear insightful discussions, and interact on campus with experts and influential figures. Brazile and Matalin were drawn together by shared interests outside politics and amutual respect born of their passion for policy. Photos by Carlos Barron Jr. ’10 Politics aside 10 SOUTHWESTERN T H E C O MM O N S LEFT: Mary Matalin (left) and Donna Brazile (right) reminisce about their experiences on the campaign trail. RIGHT: Laura Rativa ’20, a communication studies and political science double major, joins the Shilling guest speakers on stage for the Q&A.