SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. — Steven L. Scully, Happy Kercheval, Jade Floyd, Gat Caperton, and David Bancroft recently joined the Stubblefield Institute Board of Advisors. With other members of the Board, they will help guide the nonprofit to continue to study and promote civil political discourse.
Scully is currently the host of “The Briefing with Steve Scully on Sirius XM.” Previously with C-SPAN, Scully has conducted over 8000 interviews, including with every U.S. president from Ford to Biden. He is a Senior Strategic Advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Kercheval is known as the radio “dean” of West Virginia broadcasters and is recently semi-retired from his position with West Virginia Radio. West Virginians are familiar with his steady and insightful interview and commentary style from many years with MetroNews and Talkline.
Kercheval is a native of Summit Point, in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.
Floyd is executive vice president of Communications and Public Affairs at Global Strategy Group. Previously she was vice president of Communications at the Case Foundation and Revolution Venture Capital. She teaches graduate classes on Social Impact Communications at George Washington University. Floyd received her master’s degree in applied politics from the University of Akron.
Caperton is the CEO of Gat Creek furniture company. As a business leader, he works to promote rural economic development, higher education attainment, and sustainability. He is on the Board of Governors of Shepherd University, the home of the Stubblefield Institute. Caperton’s father, Gaston Caperton, was governor of West Virginia from 1989 -1997.
Bancroft’s experience includes leadership in multiple organizations, including the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Council on Environmental Affairs. He has served in Wisconsin and Maryland on election campaigns ranging from the mayoral to presidential level. He served on the Obama campaign as a member of the Energy and Environment Work Group.
“The Stubblefield Institute has groundbreaking programs to help average citizens state their case about issues important to them in factual, respectful ways,” said Bancroft. “Atthe same time, it opens the minds of students to advocate for their concerns in a manner that yields understanding and a constructive debate. For those reasons, I am proud to be member of the Stubblefield Institute Board of Advisors.”
“Each of these distinguished professionals brings so much to our Institute, the cause of elevating our civil discourse, and developing strategies for unplugging the ‘outrage machine’ and tribalism from our political communication,” said Kelly Johnston, co-chair of the Stubblefield Institute Board. “I’m personally grateful for their willingness to join and help lead this cause.”
The Stubblefield Institute was founded in 2019 with offices and programming hosted at Shepherd University.
Press Release from The Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communication at Shepherd University