To Dean Thomas P. Lauth and the rest of the outstanding staff and board members at the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs:

 Congratulations on your 10th anniversary. You’ve done a great job building an institution that educates, enlightens and broadens the horizons of students in Georgia.

 In keeping with that goal, I was especially cheered to see that Cynthia Tucker—a reporter known for her talent and integrity—would be a member of  your panel discussing the 2012 presidential election. If you were looking for a speaker who exemplifies the benefits of  honest research and sharing a deep understanding of  public affairs, then you hit a home run with Ms. Tucker.

 Yet by the same measure, I was concerned to see the SPIA had also invited Ralph Reed, whose subversive political tactics are seen by many as a threat to a fair and open democracy. Reed’s exploits in the estimated $85 million Indian casino scandal with convicted felon and power lobbyist Jack Abramoff are now legendary, but Reed’s infamous influence peddling certainly didn’t end there. Last week, journalist Bill Moyers updated us on Reed’s role in the pending presidential election, along with a review of Reed’s long history of what some might call deceitful practices.

Since Reed often refuses to reveal the sources paying him millions for his special services but can be so duplicitous when pushing an agenda for them, a little caution might be in order for those of us who care about ethics at UGA, and a tacit endorsement of Reed’s expertise by the SPIA. Even the best Bulldogs might have a few fleas, but in Reed’s case, it looks more like an infestation.

 Certainly, Reed has been a boost to the SPIA’s fundraising efforts, as a visitor and a donor at the highest level on the Archway to Excellence Honor Roll.

 SPIA has done a great deal to promote Reed as well, inviting him to speak on the upcoming governors race at the school’s 2010 Political Insiders program in Atlanta, as well as the SPIA’s panel discussion on the 2012 presidential election Sept. 7. While Richard Belcher of WSB-TV served as the moderator for both panels, Reed appears to be the only “political expert” to have the privilege to speak at both of these well promoted, high profile SPIA events.

Given that Reed has reportedly bragged about how he can manipulate the media and various non-profit organizations to promote a client’s hidden agenda, you can’t help but wonder if SPIA has been an unwitting player in one of Reed’s less savory promotions. To guard against such a possibility, perhaps a school spokesman should ask Reed to identify his current client list as part of his introduction today, instead of letting him excuse his secrecy in such matters is something akin to an attorney-client privilege, as he has done in the past.

 If a few good folks at SPIA were temporarily blindsided by Reed’s unorthodox campaign tactics, they wouldn’t be the first ones at UGA to be duped by this very clever promoter. Many of us still remember Reed from our days at The Red & Black, when Reed submitted an op-ed piece deriding the pacifist approach of  Mohandas Gandhi, calling the world leader a “quack” and “an immoral and a manifestly colossal boob.”

 While I doubt the editors of our day agreed with the Reed’s opinion, we did want to open our paper up to diverging viewpoints, and we ran his op-ed piece, not realizing it had “striking similarities” to a previously published article, until an astute political science student pointed it out to us. The Red & Black ran an admission of the error and the editors made an apology to those readers who trusted our publication to offer them news and perspectives in an honest and relevant way.

 From then on, The Red & Black would no longer be a platform for Ralph Reed’s contributions. That might be a nice lead for the school to consider as well.

    There are so many great alumni, faculty, and students at UGA who are truly dedicated to seeing the university thrive, that I am sure you will be blessed with a plethora of good new speakers who would be happy to take part in future SPIA programs. Thank you for your consideration, and thank you for making a great school for the students at UGA to study this world as it is, and ways to make it better. And once again, congratulations on a decade of excellence!

Molly Read Woo