The Honorable Robert L. Livingston during lecture at UVU

On February 10, 2023, the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU, hosted the Honorable Robert L. Livingston, former U.S. House Representative in their American Founding Lecture. The event was co-hosted by the UVU History and Political Science Department and the Gary Herbert Institute for Public Policy. The event was live streamed via Facebook through the UIMF’s page. The American Founding Lecture was designed, organized, and hosted through the UVU-developed Student-engaged Learning model or SEL. SEL challenges students to work inclusively as a group to address real-world problems with faculty as serving mentors.

Natalie Williams moderates the event

Through the application of SEL, I took the lead in communicating with the Honorable Mr. Livingston, gathered student questions, edited the bio received from the Honorable Mr. Livingston, wrote a guiding script, and moderated the event. President of the UVU Foreign Affairs Club and UIMF member Alitha Thompson designed the poster, created the Zoom link, and coordinated sending the Honorable Mr. Livingston a gift in appreciation.

Hearing from the Honorable Mr. Robert L. Livingston was an excellent educational opportunity for our UVU students. Mr. Livingston was elected to the United States House of Representatives in a special election in 1977--the first Republican to represent Louisiana’s First Congressional District in 102 years. In 1998, Livingston was chosen by his peers to serve as Speaker-designate for the 106th Congress. Besides his service in public office, Mr. Livingston’s family history is highly relevant to the American founding; the Honorable Mr. Robert L. Livingston is a direct descendant of the very Robert Livingston that signed the Declaration of Independence and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. In the Honorable Mr. Livingston’s speech, he expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet with our students. He shared how his running for public office happened by chance. Interestingly, Mr. Livingston actually represented the same seat in Congress that his great ancestor did more than two hundred years before.

Alitha Thompson asks question 

Many students of Professor Baktybek Abdrisaev’s POLS 1000 American Heritage class, including myself, Alitha Thompson, Kea Graham, Jacob Nielsen, Teah Lowry, Kristin Keaton, and Brintney Vanderpool took the opportunity to ask the Honorable Mr. Livingston questions about his experience as a Congress member and his family history. In all, students submitted over 30 questions. Alitha asked how rural mountain communities could better share their voice with Congress. Mr. Livingston recommended taking advantage of Congress members’ town halls and constituency service programs. I asked how peace and justice studies concepts could be introduced into Congress to promote reconciliation and bipartisanship. Mr. Livingston stressed that communication and negotiating across the aisle is fundamental and expressed concern over how social media and news is driving the two major parties further apart. Kristin Keaton asked Mr. Livingston what the biggest impact was he felt he made while in Congress. He highlighted his ability to balance the national budget in 1999 which was the first time it was balanced in about 30 years and the last time since. Finally, Brintney Vanderpool was listening in with her daughter who was able to ask Mr. Livingston if he inherited the quill used to sign the Declaration of Independence. He said he wished he had!

Student audience during lecture

At the end, I thanked our guest and offered to send him a gift of appreciation for his time. Overall, this experience was very enjoyable and impactful for me. I had not hosted an event with such an important figure as the Honorable Mr. Livingston before. Hosting the event gave me confidence in my professional capabilities and valuable insight into the application of my studies in real American politics. As someone who hopes to run for public office someday, interviewing a former Congress member was a dream come true.

          Natalie Williams, Utah Valley University Peace and Justice student, UIMF member

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VIDEO 

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The Honorable Robert L.Livingston 

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