Hello
John,
Over the years, the Russell Kirk Center has become known as a haven of higher learning, welcoming a steady flow of scholars and teachers, students, journalists, political leaders, and visitors who come to experience our educational programs and share in a living conservative tradition.

This month, I’m pleased to share a few highlights from that ongoing work—including recent publications, lectures, podcasts, and seminars.

Podcast on Kirk’s Book Decadence and Renewal in the Higher Learning

In a special edition of the Reading Wheel Review, Dr. Jordan Ballor, executive director of First Liberty’s Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, interviewed Dr. Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. They discuss Russell Kirk’s Decadence and Renewal in the Higher Learning—a series of writings on higher education that continues to guide our work here in Mecosta, Michigan.

Their conversation explores Kirk’s insights into the challenges facing authentic schooling in wisdom and virtue, both in the twentieth century and today. Although the book was published in 1978, this podcast shows that many of the trends Kirk identified have only accelerated, making his reflections a precursor to understanding our contemporary educational landscape.
Listen to the Conversation ([link removed])

Annual Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture in NYC

Join the Russell Kirk Center in paying tribute to the University Bookman’s late editor, Gerald Russello, with the fourth annual lecture named in his honor. On Monday, December 8, at 6:00 p.m. at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus in New York City, executive editor of The New Criterion James Panero will speak on "The Urbanity of Russell Kirk."

Gerald Russello was a highly respected attorney in New York, and he served as Bookman editor from 2005 to 2021, becoming a beloved friend to so many reviewers and authors. Sadly, he passed away from brain cancer at the untimely age of 50.

Gerald’s literary interests included Christopher Dawson, Orestes Brownson, and Russell Kirk, in addition to legal subjects. A collection of his essays entitled How Do You Do It?, ([link removed]) edited and introduced by David Bonagura, was published by Cluny Media Press last year.

Each year, we gather to appreciate Gerald for both his personal character—thoughtful, kind, and joyful—and his intellectual legacy. We are looking forward to James Panero’s talk this year.
Learn More and Register ([link removed])

Intern Feature: Brian Knewtson

The Kirk Center regularly hosts fellows and interns at our historic site, giving them a place to study and a way to do meaningful work that advances our mission. This year, we were pleased to host Brian Knewtson.
Brian graduated from Hillsdale College with a major in History in 2025 and is now a first year law student at Washington & Lee University. He is from Houghton in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and attended several seminars at the Kirk Center as an undergraduate. Those Hillsdale Collegiate Scholars Program seminars, held twice a year at the Kirk Center, were, in his words, “transformative in my education. I particularly enjoyed a seminar in which we read C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces.”

During this past summer, Brian’s primary project was to catalogue and digitize materials in the extensive Russell Kirk Archive. He completed titling and describing all items in the audiovisual collection, gaining familiarity with professional archival standards in the process. He helped prepare selections from Kirk’s popular National Review column, “From the Academy,” for publication.

“The mission of the Kirk Center is very important, and I was very happy to be a part of that this summer. Russell Kirk's work, particularly on the topic of education, needs to be better known. Before I interned at the Center, I myself did not understand how crucial his thought is to American conservatism,” Brian said. “The most enjoyable part of my time at the Kirk Center was just how welcoming everybody was. For the eight weeks I was there, I was welcomed into the family. I spent time kayaking, cooking, and with the Kirks and their many friends. I enjoyed reading dozens of Kirk’s essays for my work, and the conferences were also very fun to plan and participate in. It was a special and unique opportunity.”

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** Hillsdale Collegiate Scholars Visit the Russell Kirk Center
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Our commitment to providing formative educational experiences extends to the student groups who visit throughout the year. In Russell Kirk’s words, our seminars are meant to “encourage discussion of fundamental questions, rather than engage in debate about controversies of the hour.”

Earlier this November, the Hillsdale Collegiate Scholars Program—led by Classics professor Eric Hutchinson—returned to the Russell Kirk Center for an intellectual retreat. Students read The Apology of both Plato and Xenophon, as well as Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer. The seminar, titled “Athens, Jerusalem, and New Orleans: The Search for Wisdom, Self, and God in Plato, Xenophon, and Walker Percy,” invited students to consider some of the perennial questions of human life.

In addition to their studies in the Kirk Library, students enjoyed hospitality in the Kirk family home and deepened friendships through meals, conversation, and an excursion to a high-quality used bookstore.

Here is what the students had to say:

“Discussion of perennial questions in a setting dedicated to the salvation and renewal of culture was, simply put, inspiring and lovely.” — Hillsdale student

“The seminar was a wonderful opportunity to retreat for the weekend and to think deeply about what it means to live an examined life. From the big conference table, to the delicious coffee, to the cozy chairs in different corners of the library, to the perfectly timed snacks, every aspect of the Kirk Center enriched the weekend and encouraged us to think more deeply.” — Hillsdale student

Classic Kirk Essay

Finally, I’d like to leave you with some timely reading. For those who are interested in the podcast with Jordan Ballor and Jenna Robinson, we are pleased to share the introduction to Russell Kirk’s Decadence and Renewal in the Higher Learning.

In this selection, Kirk reflects on the perennial purpose of education—the cultivation of wisdom and virtue. He then explains why institutions that lose sight of these ends may rightly be called “decadent.” His observations remain strikingly relevant to those who care about the renewal of higher education.
Read The Loss of an Object ([link removed])
Support the Work of the Kirk Center
As we approach the end of the year, I invite you to support the Russell Kirk Center with a tax-deductible donation ([link removed]) . Your generosity strengthens one of the few places in America where higher learning and conservative intellectual formation still flourish at their true standard, even as so many universities and institutions have set these aims aside.

And don’t forget—our new publishing imprint, Mecosta House, recently released its first book, Teaching the Virtues ([link removed]) by David Hein. It would make a fine gift to any teacher or homeschool parent as we approach Christmas.

But before that, enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Best regards,

Jeffrey O. Nelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director & CEO
Support the Kirk Center ([link removed])

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