Jan 04, 2019
Office of Communications

Host of MSNBC’s The Last Word Will Present Inaugural Lecture for Assumption’s Moynihan Center

Lawrence O’Donnell will reflect upon years of serving as a staffer to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan

The political analyst, actor, writer and host of MSNBC’s The Last Word, Lawrence O’Donnell, will present a lecture titled “A Personal Reflection on Daniel Patrick Moynihan: The Scholar and Statesman” on Oct. 18 at 4:30 p.m. in the Jeanne Y. Curtis Performance Hall on the Assumption Campus, 500 Salisbury St., Worcester. O’Donnell’s lecture is the inaugural presentation for the recently established Daniel Patrick Moynihan Center for Scholarship and Statesmanship at Assumption University.

“Lawrence O’Donnell, the inaugural lecturer for the Moynihan Center at Assumption University, will share a personal and professional reflection on the late Senator Moynihan and how he shaped and influenced not only the national debate on an array of issues, but also the successful careers of his former staffers,” shared Greg Weiner, Ph.D., political science professor and director of the Moynihan Center.  “We are especially grateful to Mr. O’Donnell for sharing his reflections on Senator Moynihan with our community as we seek to inspire a new generation of scholar-statesmen.”

O’Donnell appears each night at 10 p.m. on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. His writing credits include television programs The West Wing and Mister Sterling as well as a book, Deadly Force. He began working with Sen. Moynihan in a media relations role in 1988, when the late Senator was running for re-election, then was promoted to senior advisor for the Senator from 1988-92. Following his service on the Senator’s staff, he was appointed chief of staff on the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works then in the same role for the Senate Finance Committee.

His writings have been published in a number of publications including The L.A. TimesNew York TimesWashington Post and many more. His television appearances include Good Morning AmericaNightline, and Today, among others.

A Boston native, O’Donnell is a graduate of Harvard University and the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Suffolk University.