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 […]
The Dole Institute is proud to honor U.S. Senator Tom Harkin with the 2017 Dole Leadership Prize. Harkin represented Iowa in the U.S. Congress for more than four decades, including 30 years as a U.S. Senator. As a young senator, Harkin crafted the landmark legislation that would become the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). His […]
The United Kingdom’s response to the French threat came at a time of great social and political change at home. From frantic invasion scares in 1803-1805 to political indecision, economic upheaval and civil unrest, British reaction to the threat of the Napoleonic Empire ultimately led to Britain’s impressive dominance in the 19th century. Led by […]
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. […]
Presidential historian and former Dole Institute director Richard Norton Smith returns for a deep dive into presidential rankings and what they can teach us. Smith will guide the audience through an examination of the executive office from the exalted to the ignoble, with his participation in the annual C-SPAN Presidential Historians Survey serving as a […]
Emphasizing multiple perspectives from disparate groups, Mark Hull will focus on the lives of everyday Germans during World War II. What they ate, what they saw in their local public spaces, what they read and their understanding and response to the war’s events changed dramatically as the war took an ever-greater personal toll. This talk […]
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, […]
Harvard Kennedy School professor Leah Rigueur lays out a new understanding of the interaction between African-Americans and the Republican Party, exploring the seemingly incongruous intersection of civil rights and American conservatism. Her book, “The Loneliness of the Black Republican,” delves into four decades of history from the New Deal to Reagan’s ascent in 1980. This […]
In November 1974, following the historic Watergate scandal, Americans voiced their displeasure with the GOP by electing a wave of 76 Democratic freshmen to the U.S. House of Representatives. Commonly referred to as “Watergate Babies,” some characterized them as idealistic and naïve, while others point to their work championing unprecedented reforms in Washington. Author John […]
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