Jersey City — Two former members of the United States Congress visited the Saint Peter’s College campus on October 18-19 as part of the Congress to Campus Program. The former representatives met with students in lectures, classroom discussions and participate in other activities with students during their two-day stay.
Founded by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress in 1976, the Congress to Campus Program aims to encourage students to discuss and to debate key public policy issues and to encourage them to consider careers in public service. The program sends a bipartisan pair of former members of Congress – one Democrat and one Republican – to visit colleges and universities throughout the United States. The representatives lecture, participate in classroom discussions and meet informally with students. The program is a joint collaboration among the Association of Former members, the Stennis Center for Public Service and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship.
The two former representatives who visited the Saint Peter’s College campus were the Honorable Bill Goodling and the Honorable George J. Hochbrueckner.
 |
The Honorable Bill Goodling of Pennsylvania (left) and the Honorable George J. Hochbrueckner of New York (right), two former members of the United States Congress, addressed more than 100 students in a campus-wide lecture on October 18.
Goodling, a Republican, represented Pennsylvania’s Nineteenth District in the United States House of Representatives. He first won election to Congress in 1974 and served thirteen consecutive terms. He served on the Committee on Education and Labor and became Committee Chairman in 1994. He also served on the House Committee on International Relations and the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights. Since retiring from Congress, he serves as senior advisor to Sagamore Associates, a federal affairs consulting company.
Hochbrueckner, a Democrat, represented the First District of New York for four terms in the United States House of Representatives. He served on the House Armed Services Committee, for eight years and helped to organize the India Caucus in the Congress in an effort to improve relations between India and the United States. He also served on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. He is the head of a consulting firm, George J. Hochbrueckner & Associates, based in Long Island with an office in the nation’s capitol. He also serves as of counsel to the Washington, D.C. law firm of O’Connor & Hannan.
The Congress to Campus program is cosponsored by the Guarini Center for Governmental Affairs and the Saint Peter’s College Political Science Department. Established in 1994 by former New Jersey Congressman Frank Guarini, the Guarini Center provides a non-partisan forum for discussion and analysis of key public policy issues.
Saint Peter’s College is the Jesuit College of New Jersey. Founded in 1872, Saint Peter’s has an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The main campus is located in Jersey City. The College has a branch campus for adults in Englewood Cliffs, NJ and also offers courses at various corporate sites at the Jersey City waterfront and in South Amboy, NJ.
###