May 1, 2007 – Mickey Ibarra, former Assistant to President Clinton and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at The White House (1997-2001), will be signing a deed agreement transferring his personal White House and Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games papers to the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. The signing and unveiling of special items will occur outside the office of University of Utah President Michael K. Young on Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. (Park Building, main floor). Ibarra and President Young will be available for interviews following the signing ceremony.
Notable material in Ibarra’s collection include photographs of Ibarra briefing President Clinton in the Oval Office accompanied by a personal note from the President, flight certificates for Marine One and Air Force One trips, and a 1998 statement by The White House Press Secretary announcing the appointment of Mickey Ibarra to serve as vice-chair, along with Thurgood Marshall Jr., of The White House Task Force on the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
During his White House tenure, Ibarra was responsible for building support for the President’s policy initiatives and responding to the concerns of state and local elected officials, as well as the U.S. Territories. He was the principal liaison to the President’s partners in government. He also co-chaired The White House Task Force on Drug Use in Sports and the President’s Interagency Group on Insular Areas. Ibarra also assisted with the Fort Douglas land transfer to the University of Utah.
Ibarra was born in Salt Lake City and served in the U.S. Army from 1970-1973. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University. In 1980 he received his master’s degree in Education from the University of Utah.
Ibarra began his career teaching at-risk students in Utah’s public schools. He served as Political Manager for the National Education Association, and in 1991 he met Bill Clinton, then Governor of Arkansas. Ibarra eventually was hired to work on the Clinton-Gore reelection campaign, which then led to his appointment as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at The White House. Ibarra is currently president of Mickey Ibarra & Associates, a government and public relations firm based in Washington D.C. and founder of the Latino Leaders Network, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the social and economic advancement of the U.S. Latino community by developing opportunities for leaders to dialogue on issues of mutual concern.
On May 4, 2007, Ibarra will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Utah. In addition to his White House career and his generosity toward the University of Utah, Ibarra will be noted for his generous and heartfelt support of the nation’s Latino population. The Ibarra Foundation, organized by Mickey Ibarra and his brother David Ibarra, provided the University of Utah Chicano Scholarship Fund with the largest donation ever received in its 35 year history last year to award three full-ride scholarships for underserved students.
Mickey Ibarra received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Utah in 2001 and was named a Hinckley Institute of Politics Fellow last year. Ibarra was given the 2006 Award of Excellence in Education by the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the national board of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and has been selected by Hispanic Magazine as one of the “25 Most Powerful Hispanics in Washington, D.C.”