FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 22, 2006

Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins

(662) 329-7124

 

Former White House press secretary to headline MUW Welty Gala

 

            COLUMBUS, Miss. – It was just a few months ago that Scott McClellan was making headlines after announcing that he would resign as White House press secretary.

            On Thursday, Oct. 5, McClellan will be back in the spotlight as part of the 2006 Welty Gala sponsored by Mississippi University for Women’s Foundation. The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Pope Banquet Room.

            “We are delighted that Scott McClellan will be speaking at MUW within months of having served in one of the most challenging roles in the White House,” said Dr. Gary Bouse, vice president for institutional advancement and president of the MUW Foundation. “We hope our alumni and friends will join us for a great evening at MUW.”

            McClellan served as the public face of the White House from July 2003 until May of 2006. He started his time in the Bush White House in January 2001 as the principal deputy press secretary. 

            Before joining the White House staff, he was the traveling press secretary for the Bush-Cheney 2000 presidential campaign.

            He first went to work for then-Governor Bush in early 1999 as deputy communications director.

            A native of Austin, Texas, McClellan’s roots in politics run deep. Before joining the governor’s office, he served as chief of staff to a Texas state senator, worked on grassroots outreach for lawsuit reform in Texas and managed three successful statewide campaigns.

            His family is no stranger to politics. His mother is a former three-term mayor of Austin and the current Texas comptroller. The late Dean Page Keeton, his grandfather, was longtime dean of the University of Texas School of Law.

            McClellan is a graduate of the University of Texas. He and his wife, Jill, reside in Arlington, Va.

            The Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation is the major sponsor of the Welty series of events this fall and is providing funding for students and faculty in the Ina E. Gordy Honors College to attend the Welty Gala. 

            To date, Cadence Bank and the Yates Companies, Inc., are Corporate Benefactors also providing funding for the Gordy Honors College faculty and staff to attend the Gala.

            Tickets begin at $75 per person. Patron tickets are $500 per person and include a private reception with McClellan. Benefactor tables are available at $5,000 each and include premium seating for eight along with admission to the private reception with McClellan. Proceeds benefit the endowment for the Eudora Welty Chair in Humanities.

            For more information, contact Mary Margaret Roberts, development executive director, at (662) 329-7151 or email giving@muw.edu.