Thanks for being here and for the hard work you do while you're here. Most of you were in high school or college during our most recent wave of anti-government sentiment, during the 1980s. The fact that you determined to pursue public service in spite of all that rhetoric is a tribute to your commitment and your courage. Second, our donors. As you know, the money we get from the state legislature doesn't pay for the high quality education that the LBJ School provides.
Legislative support is sufficient to operate a mediocre program.
The quality increment comes from the contributions we have received over the years from a large number of donors. Some of it comes in the form of major contributions such as the millions of dollars that Lew Wasserman has contributed to the LBJ School and Library. Tomorrow and Friday we're hosting the LBJ School advisory council meeting, and you'll see some of our major supporters there. He also is supporting our effort to develop an endowment for the Ray Marshall Center. B also is supporting a brand new project the Ben Barnes Fellowships in Public Leadership.