Just a few months after successfully hosting a Florida congressional debate last fall, Lynn University may again contribute to the election process by hosting a debate between either presidential or vice-presidential candidates for the 2012 Presidential Election. The university is one of 12 schools listed by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) as a possible site and the only school from Florida to make the list.
“Lynn University is delighted and honored to be considered by the Commission on Presidential Debates as one of the 12 possible 2012 debate host locations,” Lynn University President, Kevin M. Ross, said. “The Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center would serve as an ideal location as it did for the recent congressional debate. We hope to partner with the commission on hosting a presidential or vice-presidential debate in 2012 and look forward to the opportunity to contribute to public discourse, open debate and the free exchange of ideas.”
The 12 schools vying for the presidential and vice-presidential debates will be visited by members of the CPD between April and June of this year for site surveys. Once this is complete the CPD will review the proposals together with the site survey findings and announce the final 2012 sites for the debates sometime later in 2011. During the 2008 elections, there were three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate hosted at various universities.
A debate would attract an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people (including several thousand members of the domestic and international media) to the Boca Raton area. These people could stay in the area up to a week, generating a sizable economic impact.
The following are the other schools being considered:
The Commission on Presidential Debates was established in 1987 to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners. Its primary purpose is to sponsor and produce debates for the United States presidential and vice presidential candidates and to undertake research and educational activities relating to the debates. The organization, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) corporation, sponsored all the presidential debates in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.