He was there when President Barack Obama prepared to tell the nation that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
He was there with President George W. Bush as the World Trade Center towers collapsed.
And Monday, former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney will be here at UF.
Carney will speak at the University Auditorium about his time at the White House. The event is free, open to the public and starts at 8 p.m.
“We’ve brought in many journalists and press secretaries in the past, but not one that has been as influential on both sides like him,” said Corey Flayman, Accent Speaker’s Bureau chairman.
Accent has paid Carney $38,500 to speak, Flayman said.
Students can pick up their advance tickets at the University Auditorium box office at 7 p.m. Monday.
Carney worked as a journalist for about 20 years, starting as a reporter at the Miami Herald and becoming TIME Magazine’s Washington Bureau Chief.
“Anyone that is interested in current news should hear him speak because he has served as one of President Obama’s closest advisers,” Flayman said.
As a journalist, he covered the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990 and the impeachment and trial of President Bill Clinton. He was on Air Force One with Bush on Sept. 11.
“He has unparalleled experience and insight that nobody else has, and I can’t wait to hear it,” said Brandon Scott, a 21-year-old political science and economics senior.
In 2008, Carney became Vice President Joe Biden’s communications director, and in 2011, Obama asked him to become press secretary. In May, he stepped down as press secretary.
“The moment he stepped down, I was instantly interested and started inquiring for him to come speak at UF,” Flayman said.
Students can participate in a Q-and-A after Carney’s speech.
“We try to bring speakers who are prominent, controversial and influential to UF,” Flayman said. “Jay Carney represents all of that and more.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/21/2014]
