Rice U. political scientist Mark Jones available to discuss death of former first lady Barbara Bush

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
david@rice.edu

Amy McCaig
217-417-2901
amym@rice.edu

Rice U. political scientist Mark Jones available to discuss death of former first lady Barbara Bush

HOUSTON – (April 17, 2018) – Barbara Bush died today at the age of 92.
Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, is available to
discuss her legacy in Houston and throughout the U.S.

Mark Jones photo courtesy Rice University

“Barbara Bush was the linchpin of the most successful political family
in U.S. history,” Jones said. “Only Abigail Adams was also the wife and
mother of U.S. presidents. She will be remembered as the glue that kept the
Bush family on the right track in spite of the many adversities it has
faced throughout the years.”

Jones said that while George H.W. Bush focused on business and politics
with great success, Barbara Bush ran the Bush household.

“She saw her family through more than a dozen moves, from New Haven to West
Texas to Houston to D.C. to New York to D.C. to Beijing to D.C., and then
back again to Houston before hitting the campaign trail in 1979 to run for
president,” Jones said.

He said that in an era of hyper-partisan polarization where there is a
“growing tendency” to vilify those with different ideas and ideologies,
Barbara and George Bush remained beloved among those on the left, right and
in the center.

Barbara Bush was also an early and impassioned advocate for children with
dyslexia, Jones said.

“Her efforts dramatically raised public awareness about dyslexia and
fostered efforts to assist children in need,” he said.

Jones, a professor of political science in Rice’s School of Social
Sciences, is also a fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public
Policy and Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. He is a leading
political expert and a frequent contributor to Texas and U.S. media
outlets. His research has been cited widely in the media as well as by
numerous political campaigns.

To schedule an interview with Jones, contact him directly at 832-466-6535.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is
capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and
high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the
world 24/7.

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This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu.

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Related materials:

Photo link: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/news-network.rice.edu/dist/c/2/files/2014/09/mark-jones.jpg

Photo credit: Rice University

Mark Jones bio: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/mark-p-jones/

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is
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3,970 undergraduates and 2,934 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate
student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college
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reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for quality of life and for lots of
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