Reagan Center Plans Conference : Politics: George Schultz will speak at first major event, focusing on transformation in former East Bloc states.

After several fitful starts, the Ronald Reagan Center for Public Affairs will hold its first major conference at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library next Monday, featuring former Secretary of State George Schultz as the keynote speaker.

The conference, entitled “Perils of Democracy,” will focus on the economic and political changes taking place in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, said Lynda Schuler, deputy director of the Center for Public Affairs.

Other participants include Andrej Olechowski, foreign minister of Poland, and Eileen O’Conner, chief of Cable News Network’s Moscow bureau. Reagan himself will not attend because of scheduling problems, Schuler said.

Schuler said the conference, which is open to the public, is designed to give participants an up-close look at the democratic efforts mounted behind the former Iron Curtain. Each panelist will participate in a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The conference is the first to be held at the center under new Director Richard Norton Smith, who was unavailable for comment Monday.

A renowned historian, Smith replaced former Director John Midgley in November after the center’s board decided to drop its plans to develop a public policy think tank in favor of sponsoring more popular and event-oriented programs. As a result, several conferences planned by Midgley were canceled.

“The idea was to take the center out of the realm of academia and to the general public, which is more in keeping with Ronald Reagan’s philosophy,” Schuler said of the center’s change in direction.

In February, political commentator George Will launched the center’s new speakers’ series known as the Reagan Forum. Will’s speech on the Reagan Administration drew more than 200 people and was broadcast on C-SPAN.

Officials hope that future conferences will also be run on cable television, although there are no arrangements currently to do so, Schuler said. However, she said, each conference will be taped and made available to local schools and universities.

The center’s next conference, entitled “Do Conservatives Have a Sense of Humor?” is scheduled for May 17 and will focus on how humor is used in campaigning, Schuler said. Those scheduled to speak are former Reagan Press Secretary Lyn Nofziger, author P.J. O’Rourke, and former Vice President Dan Quayle.

Also participating will be the “Capitol Steps,” a group of congressional aides who perform musical satire about life in the nation’s capital. Tickets for the humor conference are $40.

If his schedule permits, Reagan is expected to attend the conference, Schuler said.

For more information or reservations for the “Perils of Democracy” conference, call (805) 522-2977.

FYI

The conference, to be held in the auditorium of the Ronald Reagan Library near Simi Valley, is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and is open to the public. Admission is $20 and includes a buffet lunch. About 200 seats are available, and reservations are recommended.