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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

‘Scandal’ will return to campus next month

Judy Smith, the inspiration for the inspiration for Olivia Pope on the show Scandal will speak on campus next month. Photo by flickr user roanokecollege used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Judy Smith, the inspiration for the inspiration for Olivia Pope on the show “Scandal” will speak on campus next month. Photo by flickr user roanokecollege used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Judy Smith, the inspiration for the inspiration for Olivia Pope on the show "Scandal" will speak on campus next month. Photo by flickr user roanokecollege used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Judy Smith, the inspiration for Olivia Pope on the show “Scandal,” will speak on campus next month. Photo by flickr user roanokecollege used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Olivia Pope may be fictional, but her real-life counterpart will be making her way to GW next month.

Judy Smith, the crisis manager who serves as the inspiration for the show “Scandal,” will give the keynote address at GW’s Black Heritage Celebration. The event, which will be held on Feb. 2, is part of the University’s series of events celebrating Black History Month.

Doors at the Dorothy Betts Theatre in the Marvin Center will open at 6:30 p.m., and seats will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Smith, who runs Smith & Company, a crisis management and communications firm out of D.C., has counseled top Washington figures from Clarence Thomas to Monica Lewinsky. She is now a co-executive producer of the show based on her consulting practice.

GW is no stranger to the hit ABC show. Star Kerry Washington is an alumna and gave the University’s Commencement address in 2013.

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