The National Symposium : About

National Symposium Series 2001

About

The Center for Governmental Studies at the University of Virginia is an institute dedicated to political education and reform. The Center hosts a long-term annual series forums, known as the National Symposium Series, which addresses topics of significant and immediate political interest.

Panel 1 focused on the presidential nominating process.

The topic for the NSS 2001 meeting, the presidential selection process, was particularly appropriate given the events of Election 2000. We examined various components of this quadrennial political phenomenon, from the primary system to the Electoral College, in a conference that was the focus of national attention. While we had been preparing this topic for several months prior to the election, the tumult of the 2000 election considerably magnified its importance in our political discourse.

Our goal with the National Symposium Series is to provide an objective forum for statesmen, scholars, and commentators from across the political spectrum to offer their thoughts on our systems past, present and future. We have also produced a report from the presidential selection symposium, in an attempt to help guide the parties and our nation as we head toward another presidential election in 2004.

(c) 2001, University of Virginia Center for Governmental Studies.