Candy Crowley, who will moderate the Oct. 16 presidential debate, will discuss this year’s election at a President’s Associates dinner at the University of Oklahoma on Wednesday, Sept. 26 in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave.

Crowley will be the first woman in 20 years to moderate a presidential debate. Next month’s debate will be held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. It will take the form of a town meeting in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues.

“In my opinion, Candy Crowley is one of the most insightful and objective journalists in the nation,” said OU President David L. Boren. “The respect she enjoys from her peers is demonstrated by her selection to moderate a presidential debate.”

Crowley is CNN's chief political correspondent and anchor of State of the Union with Candy Crowley, a political hour of newsmaker interviews and analysis of the week’s most important issues. Crowley took the reins of State of the Union in 2010. In her role as chief political correspondent, she covers a broad range of stories, including presidential, congressional and gubernatorial races and major legislative developments on Capitol Hill.

Crowley’s assignments have taken her to all 50 states and around the world. As a member of the Peabody Award-winning “Best Political Team on Television,” she played a pivotal role in CNN’s America Votes 2008 coverage, traveling to both conventions, every debate and additional stops along the campaign trail. Crowley earned a prestigious Gracie Allen Award in 2009 for coverage of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House. She also was part of the network’s Emmy Award-winning 2006 midterm election coverage.

She has covered the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, Bob Dole, Jesse Jackson, Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, among others. Since the presidential nomination of Jimmy Carter, she has covered all but one of the national political conventions. She was also granted an exclusive sit-down interview with President George W. Bush days before he left office.

Among her most vivid memories as a reporter, Crowley counts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast; the impeachment trial of President Clinton; Election Night 2000; ceremonies marking the 40th anniversary of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy; Ronald Reagan’s trips to China, Bitburg and Bergen-Belsen; the night the United States bombed Libya; and the terrorist bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.

Crowley began her broadcast journalism career in Washington, D.C., as a newsroom assistant for Metromedia radio station WASH. She has served as an anchor for Mutual Broadcasting and as a general assignment and White House correspondent for the Associated Press, where she covered most of the Reagan era before moving on to NBC-TV to become a general assignment correspondent in NBC’s Washington bureau. She came to CNN from NBC News in 1987. Prior to her current role, Crowley served as a congressional correspondent for the network.

Crowley earned a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.

Limited seating is available by reservation for OU students, faculty and staff, with overflow seating available to the public. For reservations, more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, please call the OU Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784.