Former President Clinton's speech last Monday marked the first initiative of the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program, which will be composed of a lecture series and summer internships related to civic engagement for Brandeis undergraduate and Heller School students.The program is the initiative of Segal's widow, Phyllis Segal '66, whose goal is to raise a $4 million endowment. The program will build up a network of Segal Fellows who have received awards in the name of Eli J. Segal '64, Clinton's former adviser who also was a Heller School overseer.

According to Program Director Thomas Broussard, Heller's assistant dean of the office of career services, money raised for the program will go toward internships for Brandeis students. This summer, Broussard said, two internships will be awarded to Heller School students and three to Brandeis undergraduates who have just completed their sophomore or junior years.

According to Broussard, this program "further enables people who know they want to make a difference in the world."

Phyllis Segal said the founders of the program "arrived at the idea of investing in citizen leaders because of the idea that citizens should take responsibility for making this a better world . [which] was central to how Eli lived, and the investment in helping others, especially young people, develop and become leaders, was as natural to Eli as breathing air."

Eli Segal worked on a series of unsuccessful Democratic political campaigns throughout his life, including Sen. George McGovern's Presidential campaign in 1972, for which he was elected by Clinton. His first success came as Chief of Staff on Clinton's Presidential campaign in 1992. After Clinton was elected President, Segal served as assistant to the president. Segal also created and served as chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service, also known as Americorps, and also headed the Welfare to Work Partnership.

Segal died in February 2006 of mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

"He was entrusted by President Clinton to take the idea of national service . What Eli did was take that idea, shape it into a program, get it through Congress in record speed, before the end of the first year of President Clinton's presidency," Phyllis Segal said.

Segal explained the program will help promote ideals that her husband valued throughout his life. She said the first meeting to discuss the formation of this program would be held next February, a year after her husband's death. "The program was developed, and we then decided that the perfect home for it was Brandeis," Segal said.

Broussard said the program hopes to attract more high-profile speakers to campus. This lecture series, Segal said, which will be held every two years, would help to shine a light on citizen leadership. She emphasized that "It's not going to be an annual memorial service about Eli Segal."

Another aspect of this program will be the creation of a network of Segal Fellows. "Members of that network are people who are receiving fellowships and awards in Eli's name," Segal said. This is also the case for those who receive awards from Brandeis and other institutions, citing the Bridgebuilder award and the Eli Segal Entrepreneurship award, both given in honor of Eli Segal, she added.

"I'm proud that [the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program] is going to be housed at Brandeis," Mrs. Segal said. "Brandeis is where Eli as a student had his first experience with citizen leadership.