2010 International Speaker Series

Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2001–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinated the White House policy making process.

Karl has been described by respected author and columnist Michael Barone in U.S. News & World Report as “...unique...no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post columnist David Broder has called Karl a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term...and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match.” Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, has called Karl, “The greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation... He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy.”

Before Karl became known as “The Architect” of President Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, he was president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for Republican candidates, non-partisan causes, and non-profit groups. His clients included over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states, as well as the Moderate Party of Sweden.

As a Fox News contributor, Karl provides a “genuine feel of inside knowledge,” says David Zurawik, a television critic for The Baltimore Sun. At Fox, Karl has “focused his punditry on what he knows best: strategy,” (Megan Garber, Assistant Editor, Columbia Journalism Review). Even The New York Times’ op-ed editor, Tobin Harshaw, observed that “Rove’s substantive contributions may now inspire a little work ethic among the celebrity talking heads who may be forced to bring to the news a little more data and a little less opinion, a recalibration that would be welcome to its devoted viewers.”

Karl writes a weekly op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, he is a Newsweek columnist and is now working on a book to be published by Simon & Schuster.

A Colorado native, he attended the University of Utah, the University of Maryland-College Park, George Mason University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Karl has taught graduate students at the University of Texas Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and undergraduates in a joint appointment from the Journalism and Government Departments at the university. He was also a faculty member at the Salzburg Seminar.

Karl was a member of the Board of International Broadcasting, which oversees the operations of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, and served on the board of the McDonald Observatory. He was also a member of the boards of regents of two Texas state universities.

Karl is now a member of the board of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and the Texas History Museum, as well as a member of the Texas Philosophical Society.

Karl and his wife, Darby, have one son.