A Public Forum of the Nelson Initiative on Ethics and Leadership

The George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida presents an event with NASA Administrator and former Senator Bill Nelson with former astronauts Charlie Bolden & Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson at the Smathers Library.

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A special thanks to our co-sponsor the University of Florida Center for Governmental Responsibility, Levin College of Law.

Senator Nelson: After serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives (1972-1978), the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida (1979-1991), and as a U.S. Senator from Florida (2001-2019), Senator Nelson was sworn in as NASA Administrator on May 3, 2021, by Vice President, Kamala Harris. As the previous chair of the House space subcommittee, Administrator Nelson became the first member of the House to travel into space as a sitting representative. On January 12, 1986, he joined the seven-member crew of Space Shuttle Columbia’s STS-61-C mission, for a six-day flight where they launched a communications satellite and performed other experiments in astrophysics.

Senator Nelson has deposited a collection of papers and other historical materials with the George A. Smathers Libraries, establishing a significant collection spanning his multi-decade career in public service. This is the sixth program of the Nelson Initiative on Ethics and Leadership at the University of Florida.

Charlie Bolden: (Pilot STS-61-C) is a retired USMC Major General who flew four STS missions between 1986 and 1994. He piloted Discovery during STS-31 (1990), which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. This mission claimed the record-setting altitude of over 400 miles. He was appointed NASA Administrator by President Obama in 2009 through January 2017. On October 28, 2015, he presented the next steps for a human journey to Mars at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C.

Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson: (Commander STS-61-C) is a retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and flew five STS missions between 1984 and 1995. He left NASA in 1996, became a pilot for Southwest Airlines, and joined the private sector as an executive Chief Test Pilot. Hoot currently races regularly at the annual Reno Air Races.

The event took place in the Grand Reading Room of the Smathers Library building on Friday, February 17, 2023.