Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will visit UCLA tonight to speak about the evolving role of major cities for an annual lecture put on by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the political science department.
The Bollens-Ries-Hoffenberg Lecture series, which is in its 26th year, aims to connect the UCLA community directly to public affairs, said Bill Parent, associate dean and director of the Policy Forum at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, who will moderate a Q-and-A session following the lecture.
Every year, organizers invite speakers who are related to state and municipal government.
Lecturers choose their topic and often speak about their respective disciplines.
The event is open to UCLA students, faculty and staff by reservation.
Villaraigosa’s speech will focus on the evolving role of major cities as economic powerhouses in the 21st century, according to the mayor’s office.
Villaraigosa is serving his second term as mayor, and in February, he was selected as chair of the Democratic National Convention for summer 2012.
“(The lecture) is an opportunity for the community to hear from and get into a conversation with someone who is deeply involved in the public sector,” Parent said.
The lecture series is named after the late John “Jack” Bollens, the late John “Chuck” Ries and current Professor Emeritus Marvin “Marv” Hoffenberg ““ all of whom had prolific careers as UCLA political science professors.
During their careers, Bollens and Ries were influential in helping students of the now-defunct masters in public administration program network with prospective employers, Parent said.
Hoffenberg was one of the founders of the lecture series and was a colleague of Bollens and Ries. His name was added to the series title in 2005.
An executive committee made up of several political leaders, as well as the political science department staff, met in October to decide on a guest lecturer for this year’s event, said Susan Pfeiffer, chief administrative officer at the political science department and one of the executive committee members putting on the lecture.
“We thought (Villaraigosa) would offer unique perspectives in connection with state and local government,” said John Caragozian, a founding member of the lecture series and one of the executive committee members.
The executive committee put in a request through the scheduling department and Villaraigosa agreed, according to the mayor’s office. Previous lecturers include Chancellor Emeritus Charles E. Young, who spoke last year about the future of California and the university.
Congressman Henry Waxman and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis have also participated in the series in the past.