By Anne Halliwell

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Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson will discuss both the current financial strain on the U.S. and partisan cooperation in his lecture in the Worsham Theater on Wednesday, said public policy and administration professor Eugenia Toma.

Simpson, who served in the Senate for 18 years, will take part in a lecture and question-and-answer session at 4:30 p.m. by the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, as well as the economics and political science departments.

Although plans to bring Simpson to campus began about a year ago — thanks to the work of former senator Wendell Ford, who worked with Simpson in the past — Toma said the partisan dynamics of the senate election, which could pit a Republican-majority Senate against Democratic president Obama, will be of interest in the panel discussion.

“I think the recent election is a great example of things he can help us understand,” Toma said. “I think it’s a very exciting time to have him here.”

Students from the Martin School and doctoral students in economics, political science and public policy and administration have been invited to attend the event in particular, wrote masters of public administration student Madison Holbrook in an email to the Kentucky Kernel.

Holbrook, the graduate assistant for student affairs who helped plan the event, will also be a member of the panel. Trey Grayson, the president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Lieutenant Governor Crit Luallen, will also provide opinions, Toma said.

“I think they are good examples of politicians in Kentucky that work across party lines,” Toma said.

Attendees can participate in the discussion by submitting questions for the question-and-answer period of the event during Simpson’s presentation.

“I think there’s a sense that we have fiscal problems because the parties haven’t worked together,” Toma said. “I guess one way of thinking about it is that we technically know how to address fiscal issues. The reasons we haven’t are political.”