January happenings and a McLellan Prizes video.

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Hello
John,
I want to begin this first newsletter of 2025 by thanking all of our friends and supporters for making possible the 36 educational events the Kirk Center held in 2024. That is a high-water mark for us. As a result, we were able to educate thousands of participants in the best and highest tradition of American conservatism.

Our new program year starts off with the popular Book Gallery webinar series hosted by University Bookman editor and professor of politics at Duquesne University, Luke Sheahan. He will discuss what social philosophies and public policies led to the seismic cultural and social shifts in America in the 1960s with Tim Goeglein, author of Stumbling Toward Utopia: How the 1960s Turned Into a National Nightmare and How We Can Revive the American Dream ([link removed]) . In this conversation, Luke Sheahan and Tim Goeglein will also consider how we can reject those philosophies and policies and restore the principles upon which America was built.

This Book Gallery episode will be held next Tuesday, January 14, at 7 pm EST. We invite you to join us to consider this important topic.

Tim Goeglein is Vice President of External and Government Relations for Focus on the Family. Formerly, he served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush and as a deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Tim also served as a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation. He is a longtime friend to the Kirk Center.
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McLellan Prizes Awarded in Grand Rapids

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Prize winners Greg Lukianoff and Sam Goldman joined a panel discussion on the prospects for free expression with Luke Sheahan and Susan Goldberg.

If you were unable to join us for the inaugural Richard D. McLellan Prizes award ceremony last month in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we're pleased to share a recording of the event with you now. To help you navigate the video, here's an overview with timestamps:

3:00 - introduction from Kirk Center CEO Jeff Nelson
14:00 - remarks on Richard D. McLellan's legacy from Gov. John Engler
27:07 - Academic Prize winner Sam Goldman's remarks
37:26 - Academic Prize winner Josiah Joner's remarks
47:45 - Grand Prize winner Greg Lukianoff's remarks
62:07 - panel discussion with Luke Sheahan, Greg Lukianoff, Susan Goldberg, and Sam Goldman

Enjoy this recording of our first annual award ceremony, and we hope to see you at the next gathering to celebrate the best of those advancing freedom of speech and expression.

The University Bookman Considers Irving Babbitt's Influential Work

The University Bookman recently published a symposium on Irving Babbitt’s Democracy and Leadership at 100. Babbitt, and this book in particular, had a tremendous influence on modern conservative thought and the thinkers that forged it. This special section of the Bookman includes:

• Democracy and Leadership at 100: Lessons for the 21st Century ([link removed]) , by Jason Jewell.

• The Great Intellectual Scandal: Irving Babbitt and His Traditionalist Critics ([link removed]) , by Claes G. Ryn.

• Irving Babbitt and Populism ([link removed]) , by Michael Federici.

• Irving Babbitt’s Defense of the Humanities ([link removed]) , by Darrell Falconburg, the Bookman's Humanities Editor.

Be sure to also take note of this month’s Classic Kirk essay on our website. Cecilia Kirk Nelson has chosen the perfect companion piece to the Bookman tribute to Babbitt's Democracy and Leadership: Russell Kirk’sforeword to the book. ([link removed])
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A Joyous New Year from the Kirk Center

As I mentioned at the outset of this letter, 2024 was a banner year for the Kirk Center, and we step into 2025 with gratitude for your support and prayers. From all of us at the Russell Kirk Center, here's wishing you a joyous new year.

Yours in ordered liberty,

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

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