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(CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul will join his former GOP rival on stage in an appearance at Harvard University later this month.

Harvard's Institute of Politics announced Friday that Trey Grayson, the institute's director and Paul's opponent in Kentucky's GOP primary for the 2010 Senate race, will introduce Paul and then moderate a Q&A session with the potential presidential contender.

Grayson, who became the institute's director in 2011, told CNN he considers Paul "the most compelling figure in the Republican Party right now." He said he's wanted Paul to speak at the institute for a few years but scheduling issues have gotten in the way.

"I'm kind of glad it's taken a while to make the schedule work," he said. "The reality is he's more of an interesting speaker today than he would have been two years ago."

Paul will be free to speak about whatever he wants, Grayson said.

The April 25th event will come a little more than a month after Paul's speech at the University of California at Berkeley, a liberal-leaning institution that's not a typical stop for Republican politicians.

Grayson said he's been "pleased at how (Paul) reaches out to groups that aren't part of the traditional Republican coalition" and argued "he does a great job of appealing to young voters."

Also of note, Republican Sen. John McCain, who's publicly sparred with Paul in the past, will speak at the institute two days before Paul.

Grayson was considered the early-on favorite in the 2010 Kentucky GOP primary, and enjoyed the backing of Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But Paul, boosted with strong tea party support, defeated the then-secretary of state. Grayson went on to endorse Paul in the general election.

While Grayson was complimentary of Paul on Friday, he said the two don't see or speak to each other very often and he described their relationship as "fine."

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Paul to speak at Harvard event hosted by ex-rival