Published: March 25, 1998

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ President John Buechner will draw on his academic background as a political scientist as well as his experience as a public official in an address on Western political behavior sponsored by the Center of the American West at CU-Boulder.

Buechner will discuss “Politics of the West: Governing Our States” on Thursday, April 2, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., in room 235 of the University Memorial Center on the campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Buechner will address such questions as whether Western values of independence and individualism have had an impact on regional politics; how the WestÂ’s relationship with the federal government has shaped the thinking and goals of Western politicians; and whether the rise of environmentalism has transformed Western political patterns.

He also will discuss the regional personalities and characteristics of Western legislatures, and how knowledge of those characteristics can help in making the best case for the support of higher education.

Buechner was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 1972 to 1974, as well as the Republican nominee for the U.S. House of RepresentativesÂ’ Second Congressional District seat in 1982.

He joined CUÂ’s political science faculty in 1963, and was named president of the four-campus system in November 1995 after serving as Chancellor of the CU-Denver campus from 1988 to 1995.

For more information, contact Carol Rowe at CU-Boulder Public Relations at (303) 492-3113, or David Grimm at University Relations at (303) 492-6206.