OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey is planning an October lecture at Creighton University in Omaha despite the opposition he received in April when he’d been scheduled to deliver the commencement address.
Kerrey, also a former Nebraska governor, decided against addressing Creighton graduates and their families last spring after the Nebraska Republican Party called on the Jesuit college to rescind its invitation. The GOP cited Kerrey’s position in favor of the right to abortion. Kerrey said when he stepped aside that he didn’t want his support for abortion rights to be a distraction.
The executive director of the Nebraska GOP, Ryan Hamilton, told the Omaha World-Heraldthere’s no concern over the college’s invitation for Kerrey to speak as part of the Creighton Presidential Lecture Series. The speech won’t be marked by the honorary degree, robes and recognition typical of commencement addresses.
Kerrey says his speech topic will be “power and importance of dissent.”
