Past chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Board, Roger Wilkins came to George Mason with broad experience in public affairs. During the Johnson administration, Wilkins served as assistant attorney general. In a distinguished journalism career, he has written for both The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he was associate editor of The Washington Star. While on the editorial page staff of The Washington Post, he shared a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for Watergate coverage with Woodward, Bernstein and Herblock. His highly acclaimed autobiography, A Man's Life (1982), was reprinted in 1991, and he was co-editor with Fred Harris of Quiet Riots in 1988.

The title of his lecture is "Jefferson's Pillow."