American Studies Institute

Lecture Series

Bringing lectures to the Harding campus, this program serves as an integral part of the American Studies Institute. A unique approach to citizenship education in contemporary national and international affairs, the Lecture Series offers insight into current trends in political and economical development affecting the American way of life. Speakers in the Lecture Series have included President George Bush, President Gerald Ford, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, John Major, Lech Walesa, Dan Quayle, Lamar Alexander, Dick Cheney, Linda Chavez, Henry Kissinger, Tom Peters, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Bobby Bowden, Gene Stallings, Zig Ziglar, William Bennett, Kenneth Cooper, Fran Tarkenton, William F. Buckley Jr., Robert Bork and Benazir Bhutto.

If you need accommodations due to a disability, please contact the American Studies Office by calling (501) 279-4497 and ask for& Vanessa Valier. Please make your request at least one week prior to the scheduled presentation.

2007/2008 Speakers

Lt. Col. Steve Russell (Ret)
September 11, 2007, 7:30 p.m., Benson Auditorium

The unit Col. Russell commanded was a central player in the hunt and capture of Saddam Hussein.  He speaks across the US and Canada, rallying the American public to support the troops with victory, not just words. Col. Russell retired from the US Army after serving 21 years in Airborne, Light and Mechanized assignments in the Arctic, the desert, the Pacific, in Europe and in the Continental United States. He served more than 7 years overseas and has deployed operationally to Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq. Col. Russell is highly decorated, having received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device and Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Valorous Unit Award. Co-sponsored by the Young America’s Foundation.

Levy P. Mwanawasa, President of the Republic of Zambia
September 27, 2007, 7:30 p.m., Benson Auditorium

Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was elected president of the Republic of Zambia in 2001. He sought and won re-election in October 2006. The second-born child in a family of 10, he holds a law degree from the University of Zambia. He worked in private law firms from 1974 until 1978, when he formed his own firm—Mwanawasa & Co. In 1985, Mwanawasa served as solicitor general of Zambia, but went back to private practice the following year. He worked as a senior partner in his firm until March 1992 when he began serving his country as vice president. President Mwanawasa has championed the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic resulting in a drop of infection rate in the country. He has demonstrated string commitment to the promotion of gender equality. Co-Sponsored by the L.C. Sears Collegiate Seminar Series.

Herman Cain
November 8, 2007, 7:30 p.m., Benson Auditorium

Godfather’s Pizza was performing poorly before Cain took the reigns in 1986 and led the chain to profitability in 14 months. In 1996, he became CEO and president of the National Restaurant Association, a position he held for two and a half years before becoming president and CEO of RetailDNA. Today Cain is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host of “The Herman Cain Show” and a Fox News business commentator. Co-sponsored by the College of Business Administration and Young America's Foundation.

David Barton
February 12, 2008, 7:30 p.m., Benson Auditorium

He is the founder and president of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization which distributes historical, legal and statistical information, and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities. David’s exhaustive research on the early history of our country has rendered him an expert in this field. He serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators, has participated in several cases at the Supreme Court, and was involved in the development of history/social studies standards for students in Texas and California. Co-Sponsored by Young America's Foundation.

Fred Gray
March 13, 2008, 7:30 p.m., Administration Auditorium

Mr. Gray is an attorney that has represented Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., and is a retired minister of the Churches of Christ.  He has also represented the men in the Tuskegee Institute Study.

Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic
April 24, 2008, 7:30 p.m., Benson Auditorium

President Klaus studied at the Prague School of Economics (majoring in the Economics of Foreign Trade and graduating in 1963), and economics became his lifelong specialist field. He entered politics in 1989, but he did not lose his contacts with the world of economics. He continued his lectures and published occasionally and in 1991, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Economics at Charles University. In 1995, he was appointed Professor of Finance at the Prague School of Economics. On February 28, 2003, he was elected President of the Czech Republic.

Past Speakers

Jose Maria Aznar

David Barton

Fred Barnes

Bob Beckel

William J. Bennett

Judge Janice Rogers Brown

Angela “Bay” Buchanan

Deena Burnett

Jim Burnett

Gracia Burnham

Barbara Bush

Jim Cathcart

Dick Cheney

General Wesley K. Clark

Dinesh D’Souza

Gerald W. Ebker

Tommy R. Franks

Vicente Fox

Sean Hannity

James Humes

Asa Hutchinson

Khalil E. Jahshan

Leland R. Kaiser

Frank Keating

Vladimir P. Lukin

Heather Whitestone McCallum

Michael Medved

Zell Miller

Sidney Moncrief

Randall Mott

Robert D. Novak

Houston Nutt

Colin Powell

Dan Qualye

Paul Craig Roberts

Jim Ryun

Don Soderquist

Kenneth W. Starr

Cal Thomas

Scott Waddle

Lech Walesa

George R. Walther

J.C. Watts

Walter E. Williams

Cheri Pierson Yecke

Benazir Bhuto