VCU president to appear on C-SPAN American Presidents series

A live, three-hour C-SPAN broadcast on the legacy of Warren G. Harding, the United States’ 28th president, will feature the expertise of Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D. The Sept. 20 show is part of C-SPAN’s 41-week series, "American Presidents: Life Portraits."

The broadcast will begin at 9 a.m. from Harding’s ancestral home in Marion, Ohio. More than 1,000 audience members are expected to participate.

Dr. Trani is the co-author of The Presidency of Warren G. Harding (University Press of Kansas, 1977). Appearing with Dr. Trani will be Robert H. Ferrell, who wrote The Strange Deaths of President Harding (University of Missouri Press, 1996).

This focus on Harding’s legacy presents interesting parallels to challenges facing President Bill Clinton, according to Dr. Trani. "As Harding campaigned for re-election, he was facing contention with Congress and foreign policy struggles to end the war in Europe and Asia. At the same time, his administration was tainted by an extramarital affair, well-publicized drinking in the White House during national prohibition and the improprieties of his senior administrators. This C-SPAN broadcast will allow us to look at what lessons we have learned in presidential politics."

On March 14, C-SPAN launched the 41-week series exploring the personal life stories of the men who have served as U.S. president. The series coincides with the 20^th anniversary of C-SPAN, which had its first cable telecast on March 19, 1979.