A Look at the Center's 25th Year

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Dear
John,
I hope this letter finds you and yours well and successfully navigating the Scylla of the pandemic and the Charybdis of snow and the polar vortex. Our country has been through a lot these past months, politically and culturally as well as from Mother Nature.

Even during our current discontents, the Kirk Center has been active and productive. I especially want to bring to your attention a recent essay ([link removed]) by our Senior Fellow George H. Nash for The University Bookman in which he explores the distinctive place that the Russell Kirk Center holds among conservative organizations.

I’d also like to briefly outline some of the Center’s initiatives and highlights from 2020.

Classic Kirk Essays: Launched last February, this section on the website ([link removed]) seeks to make the best of Kirk’s essays easily accessible online. It has become a helpful resource for journalists, professors, and students searching for sound conservative thought on a broad range of topics. For example, Josh Herring draws upon a Classic Kirk essay in his article defending the traditional humanities canon in the current issue of the Acton Institute’s Religion and Liberty ([link removed]) .

Virtual reading group series: During the spring semester, the Kirk Center conducted its first virtual reading group with a lively discussion on Russell Kirk’s Concise Guide to Conservatism led by Dr. Jason Jewell. The Center’s second virtual reading group focused on Leo Damrosch’s The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age. Dr. Wesley Reynolds guided a panel discussion of the cultural, intellectual, and political role played by coffeehouse life in London.

Bookman conversation webinars: Gerald Russello, editor of The University Bookman, recently began hosting monthly virtual conversations with authors of forthcoming books of interest to conservatively-inclined readers. These have been well-attended and are reaching hundreds of people new to the Kirk Center.

Seminars at Piety Hill: The Kirk Center was able to welcome a few groups of new students to programs at its historic location, as health circumstances permitted. During one student conference, the centerpiece turned out to be an exciting debate on a core issue of the founding era, Federalism versus Anti-Federalism. For the Center’s annual Michigan summer interns’ seminar, interns from the Mackinac Center and Acton Institute gathered for an insightful presentation on “Russell Kirk and the Northwest Ordinance.” The Center also hosted seminars for the Hillsdale College Honors Program and for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

Online growth: The Kirk Center has increased its online presence and the Center’s website now receives more than 20,000 visits each month. 2020 turned out to be a time of significant growth for the Center’s online resources.

25th anniversary video and campaign: As the focal point for the Kirk Center’s 25th anniversary, we held a virtual gala featuring a live-stream walking tour of Russell Kirk’s library. The video ([link removed]) is currently available via the Center’s vimeo channel, in case you missed it.
[link removed]
Watch our 25th Anniversary Virtual Gala

For its 25th year, the Center undertook a campaign hoping to raise $250,000 towards operating expenses. I’m happy to report that we have reached 93% of that goal to date. I am very grateful to all who contributed to sustain and advance the Center at this time. I would especially like to share this post about our Chairman, State Senator Joanne Emmons ([link removed]) , with photos of her receiving a 25th anniversary certificate in acknowledgment of her role as a “defender of the permanent things.”
If you have not yet joined the campaign, fear not. There remains a gap of $18,000 to meet the goal, not to mention the beautifully designed materials—including the Center’s first e-book and a leather bookmark stamped with Russell’s bookplate—available as mementos for supporters to the giving Circles ([link removed]) .

New Programs: In his essay mentioned at the outset, George Nash writes that Russell “strove to enlarge his American readers’ comprehension of the past. This effort was particularly on display in his panoramic book The Roots of American Order, in which he organized the story of western civilization around the great contributions of five iconic cities: ancient Athens, Jerusalem, Rome, London, and the Philadelphia of 1776 and 1787. For Kirk, American civilization was part of what he called ‘the grander tradition and continuity—the legacy of our civilization.’”

Moving forward, the Kirk Center is designing much-needed new programs based on The Roots of American Order. As Nash continues, “he made it a point, in his lectures and writings, to reach out to young people—the ‘rising generation’—and engage their imaginations.”

It is this work of cultural and intellectual formation that is at the core of the Center’s mission. I look forward to updating you on our plans for these new programs over the next few months.

With every good wish,

Annette Kirk, President
The Russell Kirk Center
Join Our 25th Anniversary Campaign ([link removed])

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