Stakeholder Spotlight: William Schneider

The “Stakeholder Spotlight” is a new occasional series of posts highlighting people who are helping to advance Learning Life’s work.  Our second post in this series features Bill Schneider, Ph.D., whom you may recognize if you watched CNN in the 1990s and 2000s. Bill is a frequent participant in Learning Life’s Democracy Dinners and a strong supporter of our broader Democracy Learning Community.  To learn more about Bill, click here.  For ways you can support Learning Life, click here.  

What is your current occupation?

I am currently Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Please tell us more about you.  

Besides being Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at George Mason University, I have also been Visiting Professor of Public Affairs at UCLA and Boston College. I was the Cable News Network’s (CNN) senior political analyst from 1990 to 2009.  I am now a contributor to Al Jazeera English and The Hill.  I am also the author of Standoff: How America Became Ungovernable, published by Simon & Schuster in 2018. 

Why did you decide to support Learning Life?

I decided to support Learning Life after being invited to participate in several Democracy Dinner discussions.  I found the participants engaging, enthusiastic and deeply concerned about the survival of democratic values and institutions.  I am happy to share my long experience writing, speaking and teaching about democracy with them.  I believe I was the oldest participant, having observed, covered and taught democratic politics all over the world for more than fifty years.