Dole Forum

Author Gene Kopelson shares the story of Ronald Reagan’s first quest for the presidency in the late 1960s. Mentored by Dwight D. Eisenhower and opposed politically by Robert Kennedy, Reagan’s first major foray into presidential politics set the tone for his future candidacies—and eventual victory. This program will include a book sale and signing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naKTddZnzcA

Frank Lavin shares the tale of a World War II foot soldier who finds himself thrust into a world where he and his unit grapple with the horrors of combat, the idiocies of bureaucracy, and the oddities of life back home—all in the same day. Lavin’s book “Home Front to Battlefront” follows his father Carl […]

Explore the life and times of General John J. Pershing, a Missouri native and commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I. Join the Institute to commemorate 100 years since the U.S. entry into the war and examine one of our nation’s most decorated military leaders, portrayed here by historical interpreter David […]

Standing as the highest point on the African continent at 19,341 feet, Mount Kilimanjaro is considered a fairly accessible mountain summit, involving an arduous trek at high altitudes with no technical climbing. Mountain guide and trekker Ian Taylor will return to the Dole Institute to share the challenge and beauty of climbing one of the […]

Author Gerri Hirshey, Rolling Stone’s first female contributing editor, will join the Dole Institute to shine new light on the complex life of Helen Gurley Brown. One of the most incomparable women of the 20th century, Gurley Brown served as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan for over 30 years and penned the famous book, “Sex and the […]

Two experts in religious freedom law and anti-discrimination law will join the Dole Institute to discuss the difficult issues that arise when the assertion of religious beliefs conflicts with the rights of others. Does the constitutionally protected free exercise of religion trump state anti-discrimination laws that prohibit denying services based on a customer’s sexual orientation? […]

Matt Keenan shares the unique stories of three local Vietnam combat veterans: John Gerstle, U.S. Army, John Solbach, U.S. Marine Corps, and Norm Fretwell, Army Ranger and paratrooper, and graduate from the 1966 West Point class described by Rick Atkinson in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Long Gray Line.” Common threads will emerge as Keenan […]

In 1946, starvation abounded in the world. World War II had led to hunger, and now coupled with world drought was causing massive starvation. Guns had started and won the war, yet peace would be written by bread. Don Loeslie shares the story of how food became a primary weapon for peace in the postwar […]

Catherine Bertini’s career has placed her squarely on the front lines of the fight to end world hunger, including time at the United Nations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and more. The 2003 World Food Prize Laureate, Bertini transformed the UN’s World Food Programme into the world’s largest and most responsive humanitarian food organization. Her […]

Starting in 1915, the Ottoman Empire killed up to 1.5 million Armenians and evicted hundreds of thousands of others from their homes in an act of genocide that would later inspire Adolf Hitler’s Holocaust in Europe. The Dole Archives Archival Fellow for Armenian Advocacy, author and journalist Michael Bobelian leads an examination of the U.S. […]

The president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Bob Kendrick arrives to discuss the museum, a Kansas City institution. The NLBM is dedicated to preserving the rich history of African-American baseball in the U.S. Kendrick will share insight into the museum, the storied history of Negro League baseball and his close friendship with Kansas City […]

Explore the many ways in which the Great War changed the world, from prisoner of war camps in Switzerland, to resistance movements in Belgium, memorial stadiums in the U.S. and a quarantine law in Kansas. A panel of KU faculty, staff and students will share research they conducted for doctoral dissertations and senior honors theses, […]