In April, the Bush Center hosted our sixth annual Forum on Leadership, which featured Glenn Youngkin, 74th Governor of Virginia, in a keynote conversation about governing in a polarized world with Ken Hersh, President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The event also explored the topics of empowering the next generation and the future of American capitalism.

The spring edition of The Catalyst: A Journal of Ideas from the Bush Institute explored how China has drastically changed in the past two years. Experts looked at how the war in Ukraine, COVID-19, and President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of near-absolute power have altered the country, and what this means for the United States.

Senior Editorial Advisor William McKenzie and Chris Walsh, Director of Freedom and Democracy at the Bush Institute, continued The Pluralism Challenge series and explored how three mayors have successfully governed in notoriously purple cities. In June, McKenzie delivered remarks on media pluralism and the media’s role in a democracy to a group of NPR station managers from the West Coast, Gulf Coast, Midwest, and Texas.

In June, we concluded the final module of the eighth class of Presidential Leadership Scholars, composed of educators, physicians, public servants, and corporate professionals. We are proud of the 60 Scholars and look forward to seeing how they continue to lead across divides.