Ohio’s 69th governor will speak at UF Jan. 23.
For its first event this semester, the Accent Speakers Bureau is hosting the former 2016 Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, who will speak at 7:30 p.m. at the University Auditorium, said Rachel Gerardi, an Accent spokesperson.
Accent Chair Gregory Wolf declined to comment on the cost to bring Kasich, which comes from student fees.
UF is paying Kasich $60,000 plus travel expenses for his appearance, according to the contract.
Armando Christian Pérez, better known as Pitbull, was paid $130,000 to speak last October. Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman was paid $56,000 to speak in October as well.
Kasich will speak about his life and define what it means to be a leader, Wolf said. The speech will aim to inspire students, not lecture them on political issues.
“That’s the type of person we wanted to bring,” Wolf said. “Not one with a negative attitude, but a constructive one.”
His speech will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session, Gerardi said. There are 850 seats available for the event. UF students can pick up their free tickets from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Student Government suite in the Reitz Union.
Summer Cook, an 18-year-old UF microbiology and cell sciences freshman, said she wasn’t sure why Accent chose a politician from a different state.
“I don’t know what he’s going to say to us since he doesn’t know a lot about the people here,” she said.
Contact Kelly Hayes at khayes@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @kellyrhayes.
In this Dec. 4, 2018, then Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks at The City Club of Cleveland, in Cleveland. Kasich, now Ohio’s ex-governor, has landed himself a talent agent as the potential 2020 presidential candidates contemplates his future. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
