Hello
John,
As the new year begins, I’m pleased to share several recent highlights and upcoming educational programs of the Russell Kirk Center.

Kirk Center Welcomes Hon. John Engler as Chairman of the Board

First, we begin the new year with a new Chairman, former Michigan Governor and longtime leader in the conservative movement, John M. Engler. John is only the third Chairman in the Kirk Center’s 31-year history. He is a nationally respected statesman, policy leader, and institutional steward whose career in public service and civic leadership reflects a deep commitment to ordered liberty, economic vitality, and responsible self-government.

John served as Governor of Michigan for three consecutive terms (1991–2003), becoming one of the longest-serving governors in the state’s history. His tenure was marked by major reforms in taxation, education, welfare, and economic development, as well as a sustained effort to strengthen Michigan’s competitiveness in a changing global economy.
He is also a key figure in establishing charter schools in the state and around the country, signing the Michigan Charter Schools Act in 1994 to introduce public school choice. His creative and imaginative approach to education reform effectively broke traditional district monopolies and fostered innovation through competition and by offering educational alternatives and accountability. It has been a lasting public policy success. During that time, John was also chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, and the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and the National Governors Association (NGA).

John’s history with the Kirk family goes back to the very beginnings of his political career. He was born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and grew up in nearby Beal City. Prior to his election as governor, John served in the Michigan Senate, where he rose to become Senate Majority Leader in 1984. In that role, he represented Mecosta and the Kirks, which began a long, continuous friendship that has come full circle today.

After leaving the governor’s office, John continued his leadership on the national stage. From 2005 to 2011, he served as President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, advocating for policies that strengthened American industry and expanded opportunity. He later became President of the Business Roundtable in 2011. From 2018 to 2019, John was appointed Interim President of Michigan State University, his alma mater, where he focused on institutional stability, governance, and restoring public trust during a period of transition.

As Chairman of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, John brings a lifetime of experience in public leadership, institutional governance, and the necessary intellectual foundations of public policy to an organization dedicated to preserving the cultural and constitutional foundations of American life. His leadership reflects a shared conviction with Russell Kirk that free institutions depend upon strong pre-political foundations, such as family, education, religion, private and public virtue, sound first principles, and a cultivated understanding of “the politics of prudence.”

Apply Now:
Virtual Master Class on the Perennial Edmund Burke

The School of Conservative Studies' upcoming virtual master class ([link removed]) will be on Edmund Burke’s masterpiece of political wisdom, Reflections on the Revolution in France. As Russell Kirk once remarked, Burke’s Reflections is “the most brilliant work of English political philosophy” and “must be read by anyone who wishes to understand the great controversies of modern politics.” Burke, in fact, is widely considered to be “the greatest of modern conservative thinkers” and “the founder of modern conservatism.”

We have secured an outstanding instructor, one of the nation’s foremost Burke scholars, Gregory Collins, to lead this master class on Edmund Burke’s thought and legacy. Over the course of four weeks, this class will serve as an introduction to Burke’s historical and intellectual significance and to his most influential book. Students will consider how Burke’s ideas spoke to the dilemmas of the late eighteenth century and continue to speak to the moral, cultural, and social challenges facing America in our own time.

Time: Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 pm ET
Dates: March 3, 10, 17, 24
Faculty: Dr. Gregory Collins
Location: Online
Tuition: $100

Applications are due by February 13, 2026. Class size is intentionally limited to allow for ample participant conversation. When we offered a similar class last year, it was in great demand so early application is recommended. Please send a resume and letter of interest to Darrell Falconburg, Academic Program Officer, at [email protected].

McLellan Prizes and Videos

As you may know, the Kirk Center and friends convened at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to present the 2025 Richard D. McLellan Prize of $50,000—the nation’s largest free speech award—to Kristen Waggoner, CEO, President, and Chief Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

The gathering also featured recipients of the research and writing Fellowship awards to Mickey Shapiro Free Speech Fellows Luke Sheahan, Jennifer Bryson, and Samuel Goldman; and Dick & Ethie Haworth Free Speech Fellows Josiah Joner, Peter Bonilla, and Thomas Matthew Vozar.

A recording of the full event, including Kristen Waggoner’s rousing acceptance speech, is available on our YouTube channel. To help navigate the program, some helpful timestamps can be found on this page ([link removed]) or you may watch thevideo directly here. ([link removed])
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Kristen Waggoner received the 2025 McLellan Prize for her career dedicated to defending free speech and expression.

James Panero on
"The Urbanity of Russell Kirk"

Last month, the Russell Kirk Center hosted its annual Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus in New York City. James Panero, executive editor of The New Criterion, delivered a lecture on“The Urbanity of Russell Kirk.”

This lecture series was inaugurated three years ago in memory of Gerald Russello, the late editor of The University Bookman. Gerald 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. Each year, we gather to appreciate Gerald for both his personal character—thoughtful, kind, and joyful—and his intellectual legacy.

James Panero’s talk is now available to listen to on our YouTube channel ([link removed]) .

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Classic Kirk: Repeating History

This month’s Classic Kirk selection from the archive is “Repeating History ([link removed]) ,” which speaks directly to the focus of the Russell Kirk Center’s work in 2026.

“T. S. Eliot remarked in a memorable lecture that we have been condemning the rising generation to a new form of provincialism: the provincialism of time, imprisoning people in their own little present moment. Eliot knew that aside from revelation our only source of humane knowledge is history, in the larger sense of that word. Only the past is knowable. The present is an evanescent film upon the deep well of the past; the future, diverting though it be to speculate about, is quite unknowable.”

You can read and share the essay ([link removed]) on our website.

We’ll have more to tell you next month as we plan for a productive year educating for the permanent things. Of course, we’ll have a number of events, new videos, and publications that commemorate America’s 250th birthday!

Yours in Ordered Liberty,

Jeff Nelson

Executive Director & CEO
The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal
Support the Kirk Center ([link removed])

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