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Former Congressmen To Visit W&L
Washington and Lee University will host the Congress to Campus program offered by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC). The university will welcome former congressmen Dave Trott (RMichigan) and Lewis F. Payne (D-Virginia) for a series of events on campus from March 16 to 18.
Congress to Campus is the FMC’s flagship program, providing college students with a unique civic education by engaging them in honest dialogue with bipartisan teams of former members of Congress, Congressional staff and American diplomats. These dialogues are intended to bring today’s issues to the forefront and showcase the benefits of healthy partisanship and civility within disagreement.
“Preparing our students for engaged citizenship is central to Washington and Lee’s mission and especially important today,” said W&L President Will Dudley. “We are pleased to welcome former Congressmen Trott and Payne to campus to share their experiences. The bipartisan program is an excellent educational opportunity for our students, allowing them to learn from former legislators in the classroom, at the public panel and through more informal interactions.”
Headlining the congressmen’s visit will be a public panel, titled “Reflections on Legislating in Polarized Times,” held in University Chapel at 5:30 p.m. on March 17 in University Chapel. The panel will be moderated by Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman Professor of Politics at W&L.
W&L’s Congress to Campus programming, sponsored by the offices of the president and provost, includes interactions between the former representatives and administrators and student leaders, as well as participation in select classes during their three-day visit.
“Students will hear firsthand accounts of how policy gets made in Congress and the impact they think Donald Trump will likely have on working with Congress to promote the general welfare,” said Morel. “I’m hoping our students get to see a few things the lawmakers disagree about but expressed in a healthy way so students can see productive civic discourse in action. Watching congressmen from opposing parties discuss politics and speculate about how Congress will interact with President Trump will show students the kind of political conversations a free people must have to maintain civic trust and work together for the common good.”
Trott served in Congress from 2015 to 2019, sitting on the Foreign Affairs, Judiciary and Financial Services committees and serving as an original co-sponsor of legislation reforming Dodd-Frank Act. Before his congressional service, Trott served as owner and executive of several companies, including one of the nation’s largest real estate finance law firms and various title and mortgage services businesses. He currently serves as chairman of ATA National Title and has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Michigan and Eckerd College.
A graduate of the University of Michigan and Duke University Law School, Trott remains active in Michigan civic life through his family foundation and service on various nonprofit boards.
Payne has been a member of the FMC board of directors in various capacities and has served as the association’s president since 2022. In Congress, he served five terms between 1988 and 1997 with Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, establishing himself as a pragmatic moderate dedicated to bipartisan cooperation. During his congressional tenure, he held positions on several key committees, including Ways and Means, Budget, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veterans Affairs.
Before entering politics, Payne developed the Wintergreen Resort community, serving as chairman and president from 1973 to 1988. He later founded Three Ridges Group, a real estate development company in Charlottesville, and his extensive experience also includes co-founding and leading McGuireWoods Consulting, a national public affairs firm, and serving as an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers from 1967 to 1971.
Payne earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Military Institute, and he also holds an MBA from the University of Virginia.
