The Smith Opera House in Geneva will be hosting a free program on American politics with some heavy-hitters in the media and political fields.
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and Republican political strategist Karl Rove will speak at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, as part of the Stern Family Forum. The program is open to the public.
They’ll discuss American politics, media and civil discourse in a conversation moderated by Emmy Award-winning "60 Minutes" correspondent and Hobart and William Smith Colleges Trustee Bill Whitaker.
More about the speakers
Dowd, who has worked for "The New York Times" for more than four decades, has been a columnist for the "paper of record" since 1995 and won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for her coverage of the Clinton
presidency.
Rove served as senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2007. He continues to write and comment on American politics for "The Wall Street Journal" and as an author and political analyst.
Whitaker, a 1973 Hobart graduate, has spoken on campus on several occasions, including the 1997 and 2008 commencement ceremonies. In 1997, the college awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for his service.
For more information
The Smith Opera House is at 82 Seneca St., Geneva. More information on the program and its speakers is available at https://www.hws.edu/news/2026/Maureen-Dowd-Karl-Rove-and-Bill-Whitaker-to-Headline-2026-Stern-Family-Forum.aspx.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Maureen Dowd and Karl Rove to speak in Geneva
