Ford Fellows experience the Kirk Center

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Dear
John,
Next Tuesday, December 5, we’ll gather at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Russell Kirk’s consequential book, The Conservative Mind. I’d like to announce the final speaker on the emerging conservative thinkers panel for this event ([link removed]) before turning to activities here at the Center.

I’m pleased to share that John Wood Jr., one of the most creative and thought-provoking conservative thinkers of our time, will be a panelist for our “Adapting Conservatism for the Current Generation” discussion. John is a national ambassador for Braver Angels, America's largest bipartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to the work of political depolarization.
Prior to that, John was a nominee for Congress in California's 43rd District in the 2014 election cycle, afterwards serving as 2nd Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County (America's largest county-level Republican Party). He serves as an advisor with the American Project, an initiative of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy dedicated to restoring the communitarian roots of conservatism. He also is an opinion columnist for USA Today.

Last year, John spoke at one of our popular Kirk on Campus ([link removed]) events when he shared the stage with Ian Rowe for a discussion at Hope College on “Equity or Freedom?” And earlier this year, he spoke for the Kirk Center and Acton Institute at a co-sponsored lecture ([link removed]) on the topic “What do Russell Kirk and Martin Luther King, Jr. have in common?” For all of their political differences, John argues that our modern politics suffer because contemporary liberalism and conservatism lack the grounding in virtues, communitarian values, and faith in an ordered universe to which both King and Kirk held fast.

I’m sure John will bring a much-needed perspective to thinking freshly about what it means to be a traditional conservative today. Join us in person ([link removed]) next week to hear from John, Elayne, Christina, and Michael as they chart a new path for the old cause.
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Several media pieces assessing the contemporary significance of The Conservative Mind have appeared recently, including these excellent commentaries:
* Darrell Falconburg's ([link removed]) essay in The Imaginative Conservative
* Saving Elephants podcast interview with Michael Lucchese ([link removed])
* The University Bookman ([link removed]) symposium, including this moving pieceby Dan McCarthy ([link removed]) .

The past few weeks have been particularly fruitful at the Kirk Center as we hosted four seminars, including an intellectual retreat for The Fund for American Studies, as reported here ([link removed]) . For the first time, we also welcomed the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation’s Ford Fellows, a group of students and young professionals seeking to develop leadership skills anchored in the moral, intellectual, and civic virtues. Their seminar focused on the theme “Becoming Civil: Etiquette, Manners, and Decorum from Aristotle to Kirk.”

The Ford Fellows were pleased to discover the Center’s resources just an hour away from their locations near Grand Rapids. Or, as one of the Ford Fellows put it, “Absolutely stunning venue – such a distinct hub of thought out here in the rural part of MI.” And another remarked, “I would tell potential participants to always take opportunities at the Kirk Center because it is a place of knowledge and growth. It is a beautiful place rich with history. The speakers were out of the world and I expanded my thoughts deeply.”

“The Russell Kirk Center’s various opportunities are deeply worthwhile, offering interesting conversation, ideas, and a focus on orienting thought towards a truly good society and civilization. Whether you’re interested in politics, policy, or neither, the process of coming to understand more of what makes a good life is in and of itself enjoyable and fulfilling.”
- Ford Fellow

During this season of gratitude we are grateful for our organizational partners and for the students, teachers, legislators and policy makers who have joined with us to explore the foundations of American conservatism together.

I hope to see many of you in Washington next week to celebrate a great book and a rich tradition!

Regards,
Jeffrey O. Nelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director & CEO
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