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LAWRENCE — The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas has announced its late fall 2025 programming, featuring conversations on foreign service and diplomacy, public service and domestic politics. Highlights include several Dole Fellow-led conversations, including with Croatian Ambassador to the United States Pjer Šimunović, Cook Political Report editor-in-chief Amy Walter and Wichita Mayor Lily Wu.
Additional programs include a new edition of The Counselors, which features a debate on whether the electoral college should be abolished, and the annual Tribute to Veterans Gala.
Special program with Croatia’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Dole Fellow Qëndrim Gashi will be in conversation with Croatian diplomat Pjer Šimunović at 7 p.m. Nov. 13. Šimunović will speak with Gashi about Croatia’s experience in public diplomacy in the United States and examine key aspects of U.S.-Croatia bilateral cooperation. Their discussion will also offer perspectives on current U.S. foreign policy and Croatia’s priorities.
Šimunović has served as Croatia’s ambassador to the United States since September 2017. Prior to his ambassadorship, he held various high-level national security, defense and diplomatic positions in the Croatian government, including ambassador to Israel, deputy head of mission at the nation’s Paris embassy, defense secretary in charge of defense policy and director of the Office of the National Security Council, among others. Before entering public service, he was a journalist with the BBC World Service Radio in London, Europe magazine in Paris and Večernji list in Zagreb, Croatia. Šimunović holds a master’s degree from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.
Forum programming with Dole Fellows
Jerry Seib, former executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal and Dole Institute Visiting Fellow, will moderate “The Midterm Election, One Year Out,” an examination of the factors shaping the 2026 midterm election campaign, at 7 p.m. Oct. 30. He will be joined by Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report.
Dole Fellow and political consultant Joni Wickham will conclude her Fall 2025 Discussion Groups series with “High Stakes Leadership: A Leadership Case Study in Innovation, Resiliency, and Impact,” a conversation with Wichita Mayor Lily Wu at 4 p.m. Nov. 12. Their conversation will highlight the opportunities and challenges that come with running a city that aims to grow in sustainable and strategic ways.
Wu was elected as the 103rd mayor of Wichita in November 2023, becoming the first woman elected to a full term in Kansas’ largest city, and the first Asian American mayor in Kansas. Prior to entering public service, she was an award-winning local television journalist, serving as an anchor and reporter for Wichita television stations KAKE and KWCH 12 News. Wu is a graduate of Wichita State University and the University of Hong Kong, and she holds leadership positions with various community volunteer organizations.
Attorneys and Dole Institute Visiting Fellows Ed Duckers and Pedro Irigonegaray will return to the institute for the fall edition of The Counselors at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 20. The popular program, a cross between a mock trial and a debate, “Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?” will feature Duckers and Irigonegaray and a panel of expert witnesses, including Washburn Law School dean and professor Jeffrey Jackson, Washburn University professor of political science Linsey Moddelmog, author Tara Ross and Save Our States executive director Trent England.
Tribute to Veterans Gala
On Nov. 9, the institute will host its annual celebration of the nation’s veterans and their families: the Tribute to Veterans Gala. The evening will feature live music by the Moonlight Serenade Orchestra and a special “Salute to Veterans.” While free and open to the public, reservations are required to attend. Doors open at 5 p.m., with programming beginning at 6 p.m.
Detailed information on all these events, programs and exhibits can be found at the Dole Institute website. All programs, which are free and open to the public, will take place at the Dole Institute and can be streamed live on the institute’s website and YouTube channel. Members of the media wishing to attend any of these programs are asked to contact Jackson DeAndrea at jackson.deandrea@ku.edu.
About the Dole Institute
Inspired by the leadership legacies of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and the enduring civic contributions of the Greatest Generation, the Dole Institute of Politics strives to promote a new era of leadership that uses politics to bring people together through opportunities that emphasize bipartisan cooperation, public service, and civic education and engagement.
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