Governor John Rowland to Give Chubb Lecture on Oct. 6

Connecticut Governor John Rowland will present the first Chubb Fellowship Lecture of the 1998-99 academic year at Yale University. His talk, “Urban Connecticut,” will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the Law School’s Levinson Auditorium, 120 Wall St. The event is free and open to the public.

Vice President and University Secretary Linda K. Lorimer will introduce the Governor, who will be giving his second Chubb Fellowship Lecture. He previously spoke in November 1995, just 11 months after being sworn in as Connecticut’s 86th governor.

When he was elected governor at age 37, Rowland was the youngest person ever to hold the state’s highest office. He is currently the youngest governor in the nation.

Since taking office, the Governor has declared that responsible budgeting, spending restraint and improving the quality of life in Connecticut are his top priorities. Since 1995, Connecticut has run budget surpluses totaling $597 million, and this summer, for the first time in the state’s history, Connecticut taxpayers received tax rebate checks. Under Rowland’s leadership, the state has also reduced its corporation tax, invested more than $2 billion in public education and enacted major welfare reforms.

The Governor’s family has lived in Connecticut for more than 200 years. Rowland’s father and grandfather both served as comptroller for the City of Waterbury. His own career in public service began in 1980 when, at age 23, he was elected to the state legislature representing the 73rd Assembly District. Four years later, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he represented the Fifth Congressional District until 1990.

Rowland has been cited by The Wall Street Journal as “one of the nation’s top 10 emerging government leaders,” and he was the first governor to receive the Excellence in State Government award.

The Chubb Fellowship Program was established in 1936 through the generosity of Hendon Chubb (Yale 1895). Based at Timothy Dwight College, the Chubb Program encourages and assists students interested in government and public service.