Experts in the News | Miller Center

From Thomas Jefferson To Mike Pence — The Power Of The Vice President

This week on Freak Out And Carry On, Ron Suskind and Heather Cox Richardson talk with Barbara Perry, Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. They discuss the new profile of Vice President Mike Pence in The New Yorker and look at the power — or lack thereof — of vice presidents, from Thomas Jefferson to Dick Cheney.

Barbara Perry

Are Democrats in for a rude awakening in Virginia?

"The importance of the election itself, the gravity of the election, on a national basis makes this a venue that you'd want to bring out your heavy artillery, even if you felt that the race was safe," Russell Riley, co-chair of the Miller Center’s Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia, told Salon. "Because everybody will be paying attention here as a sort of off-year election, Virginia tends to draw more attention because people are trying to read national trends. And I think that is largely what is at issue."

Russell Riley

Miller Center announces new senior fellows

The Miller Center is thrilled to announce its second class of senior fellows, seven accomplished academic professionals who will help the Center in its mission to provide national leaders with the history, perspective, and understanding they need to make effective decisions.

War and Terrorism

Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis

With the clouds of war darkening over the Korean Peninsula and an impulsive and untested president in the Oval Office, the threat of nuclear war looms larger than it has in a generation. Now that such threats and fears have returned, it’s worth revisiting lessons from that moment, 55 years ago, when the world looked into the abyss of Armageddon.

Donald Trump's misleading comments on Obama's calls to fallen soldiers' families

"For presidents who served in times of lengthy wars, Vietnam and War on Terror, when thousands of service members have been killed in action, it would be impractical to think presidents could call all families," said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. "I suspect that all presidents at least send letters to the families of fallen service members."

Barbara Perry

DNC chairman aims for diversity with delegate nominations

Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Tom Perez has nominated 75 people to become new at-large DNC members, including a transgender woman and a woman protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to a list obtained by The Hill.

Chris Lu