Birthday Bash for Former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby on Jan. 21 Kicks Off Hobby School of Public Affairs Initiative

The University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy (HCPP) plans a birthday bash for former

Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, and the birthday gifts benefit future public policy students.HobbyBash

The “Bill Hobby Birthday Roast and Toast in Celebration of His 83rd Birthday” is planned from 6:30 – 9 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 21 at the River Oaks Country Club. All proceeds will support the initiative for a new Hobby School of Public Affairs. To RSVP or for more information, visit http://www.uh.edu/class/hcpp/roast/Response.pdf.

“Gov. Hobby is well versed in public policy and the rigorous analysis of public policy issues. He also demands transparency in how data are collected,” said Jim Granato, professor and director of the HCPP. “Through an interdisciplinary approach, the Hobby School of Public Affairs will train future leaders to analyze complex data and leverage innovative technology to assist decision makers in the public and private sectors.  Reflecting Bill Hobby, graduates will offer ethical, pragmatic, reality-based solutions to evolving policy challenges.”

In 2013, the UH System Board of Regents passed a resolution supporting the UH Bill Hobby School of Public Affairs. With research methods supported by the National Science Foundation, the school’s mission will be to prepare new policy leaders, researchers and professionals with the tools to analyze data—politics, energy, health care, the economy and other areas—effectively and with intellectual honesty.

The event is chaired by HCPP advisory board members Beth Robertson and Lynne Bentsen. Honorary chairs and “roasters” are attorney Joe Jamail, former Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher and State Sen. Rodney Ellis.

“We are excited to honor Bill Hobby on his birthday with a memorable ‘roast’ from three of his longtime friends,” Robertson said. “His prowess in the private sector and public arena is remarkable. Yet his leadership within higher education ─ and ultimately the Hobby School’s students and research ─ will have lasting effects on the success of our state.”

William “Bill” Hobby served as Texas’ lieutenant governor for 18 years, longer than any other elected to that position. His tenure continued a family association with the Texas Senate covering three generations and spanning more than a century.

The UH Center for Public Policy began in 1981 as an impartial research organization within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In 2010, it was renamed for former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby.

WHAT: “The Bill Hobby Birthday Roast and Toast in Celebration of His 83rd Birthday”

WHEN: 6:30 – 9 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 21

WHERE: The River Oaks Country Club

For directions visit http://www.riveroakscc.net/