White House staffer to speak on faith-based partnerships

A little piece of Washington, D.C., comes to Belmont’s campus this week—and no, it’s got nothing to do with “Debate 08.”

This D.C. connection comes in the form of Joshua DuBois, the director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He is scheduled to speak at a Christian Faith Development convocation at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, in MPAC.

DuBois, who grew up in Nashville, is a Pentecostal minister who managed the religious aspects of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. According to Time magazine writer Alex Altman, DuBois led as many as eight campaign staffers and hundreds of volunteers during Obama’s presidential bid.

DuBois earned an undergraduate degree in political science at Boston University in 2003 and a master’s in public affairs from Princeton in 2005. The 26-year-old was working on a Juris Doctor degree at Georgetown University until 2008, when he became apart of the Obama campaign.

That’s right – he’s 26. He’s young, and according to Altman, Obama took a “gamble” when he appointed DuBois to his position. Altman says Obama “risks lending ammunition to critics who say religion remains a secondary issue for the Democratic party.”

Apparently, to our president, DuBois is worth the risk.

For more information on DuBois’s visit to Belmont, contact Benita Walker in the Office of Spiritual Development at (615) 460-6628.

To see a schedule of other programs coming up this fall, click here.