Bob Franks, who has served four terms as a New Jersey congressional representative will discuss his experience in Congress, focusing on finance issues.

In the 2000 race, Franks lost to Jon Corzine, who spent a record $63 million on the campaign. Franks will talk about campaign finance reform and his experience on the House Budget Committe, which produced the first balanced budget in a generation.

Politics Online President Phil Noble will discuss democracy in the age of the Internet, and will work with students on an interactive web-based project. Noble, who has written several articles and two books on the effect of the Internet on politics, works to help public affairs and non-profit enterprises use the Internet for its fundraising and communication capacities.

Pedro Russello just finished his second term as Governor of Peurto Rico. He will discuss public policy and community service while working with the Institute-affiliated Project H.E.A.L.T.H. Rusello has worked as a pediatric surgeon and professor of medicine at Harvard University before addressing issues in Latin-American politics and assuming the seat of Governor in 1992.

Lionel Sosa served as a media consultant for the Bush-Cheney 2000 Campaign. Having focused in the past on Hispanic media relations and education, Sosa will lead a group devoted to studying minority student groups and their achievement.

Sosa, who plans to return to Texas at the end of the semester, views his fellowship here as more than a simple discussion. Texas has the biggest challenge in terms of minority education, since the state will be two-thirds minority by 2020, and the drop-out rate for Hispanic high school students continues to climb up above 50 percent.

"We plan to discuss this to see what is being done, what can be done, and what challenges lie ahead," Sosa said. "We will come up with some solutions, and when we get back to Texas, will be putting into effect many of the ideas we have from the discussions this semester."