2005: Newt Gingrich

(l-r) Newt Gingrich, Dr. John Pitney, Jr. and Dr. Danielle Vinson

American Politics and Policy

The Honorable Speaker Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Public Address: “Revisiting the Republican Revolution: 10 Years of Republican Rule”
Younts Conference Center
October 12, 2008

The Honorable Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who led the 1994 Republican victory that created the first GOP majority in Congress in 40 years, spoke on the Furman University campus Wednesday, October 12, 2005 in the Younts Conference Center.

His address, “Revisiting the Republican Revolution: 10 Years of Republican Rule,” was sponsored by the Riley Institute at Furman.  Gingrich also participated in a panel discussion following his talk. The panelists were Dr. Danielle Vinson, professor of Political Science at Furman, and Dr. John Pitney, Jr., professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California. Dr. Thomas Kazee, Furman’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, moderated the discussion. Over 400 students, faculty, staff, and community members were in attendance for this event.

About Speaker Newt Gingrich

Gingrich served as a member of Congress for 20 years and as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. He is widely recognized as the chief architect of the Republican “Contract with America,” and was the key strategist and leader behind the 1994 Republican victory. Under his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, the first balanced budget in a generation and the first tax cuts in 16 years. He was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for 1995.

Since resigning from the speakership in 1999, Gingrich founded the Center for Health Transformation, a collaboration of leaders dedicated to the creation of a 21st Century Intelligent Health System that saves lives and money. In addition to serving as a political analyst for FOX News Network, he is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Gingrich is the author of nine books, including the bestsellers, Winning the Future, Contract with America and To Renew America. A graduate of Emory University, he earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in Modern European History from Tulane University. Before his election to Congress, he taught History and Environmental Studies at West Georgia College for eight years.

Press Coverage

The Greenville News; Furman’s weekly newspaper, The Paladin; Fall 2005 issue of Furman Magazine