From the classroom to the West Wing: MSU’s Gil Carter invited for exclusive White House tour

STARKVILLE, Miss.— Mississippi State Assistant Professor Gil Carter recently experienced a rare, behind-the-scenes visit to the White House and cultivated the opportunity to speak with lawmakers about his work and the importance of political communication. 

Carter, a faculty member in MSU’s Department of Communication, Media and Theatre, visited several areas that are typically off-limits to the public. He was granted the unique experience by Elizabeth McAlindon, a former student from his tenure at the University of Alabama who now serves on the White House staff.

“I had the rare opportunity to tour the West Wing,” Carter said. “I saw the Oval Office, Cabinet Room and Roosevelt Room, among other locations that could not be photographed.”

He was able to document part of the experience in the James Brady Press Briefing Room, where White House press secretaries deliver televised updates. Carter posed at the podium and in the press seating area. 

In addition to his White House tour, Carter visited Capitol Hill, where he discussed his teaching and research in political communication with several members of Congress.

“I enjoy visiting D.C. when Congress is in session to see the body in action. My dissertation and much of my continuing research agenda center on the Senate. Senators are frequently friendly in brief and spontaneous interactions in the office buildings. Their most frequent question to me is, ‘What do you teach?’ They perk up when I say, among other subjects, ‘political communication,’” Carter said.

“Each time I go to D.C., I am reminded of the importance of our democratic system of government and the sacrifices of so many everyday Americans to maintain it. This is what I stress to our MSU students––political communication matters because it is essential to maintaining our democracy. This trip was a wonderful opportunity,” Carter said.

While on Capitol Hill, Carter met with several U.S. legislators, including Representative Shomari Figures from Alabama, whose parents served in the Alabama Legislature alongside Carter’s grandfather. 

Carter, a native of Killen, Alabama, said the trip not only provided professional engagement but also offered a meaningful personal connection. “Talking with representatives about our families’ history in Alabama politics was a memorable moment,” he said. “It was truly a unique and inspiring visit,” he said.

For more information about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Communication, Media and Theatre, visit www.cas.msstate.edu or www.comm.msstate.edu. 

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.