| LOUISVILLE, KY
— Presbyterian-related Centre
College, which hosted a vice presidential debate in 2000 and
was one of 14 finalists for a candidates’ debate this year,
was not among the sites recently chosen by the Commission
on Presidential Debates.
“We’re obviously disappointed at the outcome for
this election cycle, but Centre is going to remain a place where
important conversations occur,” said John A. Roush, president
of the 1,000-student liberal arts college in Danville, KY. “We
feel that our strong performance in 2000 and the serious consideration
we received this time around will make us a strong contender in
2008.”
The commission didn’t say why it selected other sites over
Centre.
The locations that will host 2004 presidential debates are the
University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL; Washington University,
St. Louis, MO; and Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Case Western
Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, will be the site of this
year’s vice presidential debate.
The commission also chose two back-up sites — the Rochester
Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, and the University of
South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
Centre officials learned in April that the Danville campus, about
30 miles southwest of Lexington, was being considered for a campaign
debate in 2004.
“The Commission on Presidential Debates was honored that
Centre College sought to host another general election debate
in 2004,” said Janet Brown, the commission’s executive
director. “In many ways, Centre set the standard for general-election
debates — in terms of facilities, execution, and especially
broad public involvement and civic education — as the host
of the vice presidential debate in 2000.”
The commission is a non-partisan, non-profit corporation that
sponsors and produces the debates.
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