1941: The Turning Point in the Holocaust
2020-05-07 00:00 (America/Chicago)
Few years in modern history have been as eventful as 1941. For most Americans, the December 7 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor resonates as the year’s signal event, an action that thrust the United States into World War II. For the Soviet Union and its clients, Operation Barbarossa, the sudden Nazi attack of June 22, earns the distinction as the most eventful, as the Wehrmacht turned its mechanized might onto its erstwhile ally. 1941 also marked the beginning of the Shoah, the designed destruction of the Jews of Europe. During the 1930s, Hitler’s regime had applied ever-increasing methods of persecution onto the Jews of Germany and other European countries as they were occupied. Before 1941, the Nazi actions were primarily designed to dispossess the Jews of their wealth and compel their emigration. Coincident with Barbarossa, however, persecution turned into a more generalized European slaughter; it was the great turning point in the Holocaust.
This program will stream live on our YouTube channel.
Dave Cotter is the Director of the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He has been a faculty member since 2009 and was previously a member of the Department of History at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. He has an M.A. in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and an M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Gratz College. In addition to the history curriculum, he is active in the Genocide and Mass Atrocities Studies Seminar at the Staff College. In the past year, he has made genocide-related presentations to the Society for Military History, the Watson Institute at Brown University, the Dole Institute of Politics, and the Naval War College. Dave is a retired military officer with 32 years of experience, including multiple combat deployments and command at battery, battalion, and brigade levels.

Barbarossa’s Siege of Rome, 1167: The Turning Point for Medieval Italy
2020-06-04 00:00
In an effort to thwart the ambitions of his political rivals, the Hohenstaufen ruler Frederick Barbarossa invaded Italy in 1167 with the goal of driving all the way to Sicily. Following successful sieges in northern Italy, he took his army to Rome: he captured the city on July 24 and then stirred its citizens into revolt against Pope Alexander III, who was forced to flee to Benevento. Six days later, Barbarossa installed an antipope (Paschal III) on St. Peter’s throne, and Paschal, in return, crowned him Holy Roman Emperor. Matters abruptly changed thereafter. A destructive storm and widespread plague ultimately drove the emperor out of Rome and back north, into the waiting arms of the Lombard League, a coalition of sixteen Italian cities that had formed an alliance against him. What followed was a series of military defeats and humiliating near-captures as Barbarossa frantically tried to escape to Saxony. It was the beginning of the end of imperial control over northern Italy: in 1176, the Lombard League decisively defeated Barbarossa at the Battle of Legnano, and in 1183 he granted its members the right to self-governance. In the following century, the Italian Renaissance was born in these independent states.
This program will be live on our YouTube channel.
John D. Hosler is an Associate Professor of Military History at the Command and General Staff College. An expert in medieval warfare, he is the author of The Siege of Acre, 1189-1191: Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, and the Battle that Decided the Third Crusade, which was named a Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year.

A Conversation on Race Part I
2020-06-16 00:00
The justifiable outrage over the death of Mr. George Floyd has spread across the United States and beyond. As thousands of people take to the streets demanding racial justice, the need for civil and thoughtful discourse has scarcely been more acutely felt in the history of our country. The Dole Institute’s mission is to provide the forum for exactly this kind of important and uncomfortable conversation.
“A Conversation on Race” will be hosted by Senior Associate Director Dr. Barbara Ballard and will feature Dr. Roosevelt “Rose” Barfield and Cherylyn Harley LeBon as her guests. This program will be the first in an ongoing series on race-related issues with additional installments to be announced at a later date. Ballard, who serves in the Kansas State Legislature since 1993, will welcome Barfield and LeBon back to the Institute, as both were Dole Fellows in the past. Barfield served in the U.S. Army for 32 years, retiring as a Brigadier General, and LeBon worked extensively in national politics, including as assistant administrator for Intergovernmental Affairs for George W. Bush.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Barfield served in the U.S. Army for 32 years, retiring from active duty in 2009 as a Brigadier General. He served as a Military Legislative Assistant to the U.S. Senate from 2008 to 2009. He was the guest speaker for the Dole Institute Student Advisory Board program in Fall 2010 and was the Spring 2013 Dole Fellow. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Consilium Group and a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
LeBon was the assistant administrator for Intergovernmental Affairs for the George W. Bush administration, working with the White House, Governors, and local and state officials coordinating disaster relief, economic development, and financial assistance. She also served as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She was the Fall 2017 Dole Fellow and is currently a partner with the law firm Dunlap, Bennett & Ludwig.

Let the Shameful Wall of Exclusion Come Down: The 30th Anniversary of the ADA
2020-07-21 00:00
On Tuesday July 21st, the George & Barbara Bush Foundation will convene key activists, advocates and policymakers who helped make the Americans with Disabilities Act a reality for a bipartisan celebration of that landmark civil rights legislation – and, equally important, focus on the challenges that will shape the future of the disability movement. Dole Institute of Politics Associate Director and Director of Museum and Archives Audrey Coleman will be among the guests for the discussion.
The 90-minute online program, titled “Let the Shameful Wall of Exclusion Come Down,” taken from President Bush’s remarks on July 26, 1990 as he signed the ADA, starts on July 21st at 12:30 pm Central and will be moderated by Judy Woodruff, the managing editor and anchor of PBS’ NewsHour.

Commemoration of 30th Anniversary of the ADA
2020-07-26 00:00
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement is joining the Dole Institute of Politics, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate, George Bush Presidential Library & Museum and George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum to host a virtual rally commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 2020.
Hosting the rally virtually on Twitter and Instagram will not only allow participants to socially distance but also increase accessibility for people who might face physical barriers to attending an in-person event. Renowned disability rights activists, including Senator Tom Harkin (retired), Senator Bob Dole (retired), Judy Heumann and Claudia Gordon will speak at the event.
The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was known as the Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities at the time it was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990.
For more information about the rally and the 30th anniversary of the ADA visit The Harkin Institute’s website or contact Emily Schettler, emily.schettler@drake.edu, 515-205-6319.

The Battle of Shiloh, the Turning Point of the American Civil War
2020-08-06 00:00
Civil War fans often point to Antietam or Gettysburg as the turning point of the war, but overlooked is the night of April 6, 1862, when Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee was teetering on the edge of annihilation on the banks of the Tennessee River. The day had begun with a surprise attack by Confederate forces near Shiloh Church and had witnessed the heaviest fighting of the war to date, through places like the Hornets’ Nest and Hell’s Hollow. That evening, Grant’s subordinates all advised an immediate retreat, but he chose to stay and fight, a decision that resulted in the most significant turning point of the Civil War.
Watch the live-stream of this program on our YouTube channel.
Harry S. Laver is a professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, who specializes in the American Civil War and World War II Europe. His recent publications include A General Who Will Fight: The Leadership of Ulysses S. Grant (University Press of Kentucky, 2013), and as co-editor, The Art of Command: American Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell (University Press of Kentucky, 2nd ed., 2017). From 2013 to 2014 he was a Fulbright Scholar at the National University of Ireland at Maynooth. In 2017 he was selected as the Educator of the Year in Department of Military History at the Staff College.

1979: The Turning Point of the Cold War
2020-09-03 00:00
President Carter had a visceral dislike of the CIA and its use of covert missions. However, he overcame his initial perception when he saw an opportunity to use the CIA and its covert action as a means to increase the pressure on the political and social systems of the Soviet Union. Using the tenets of the Helsinki Accords as a means to advance the cause of human rights and civil liberties, Carter used the CIA as a critical tool to support the Solidarity Movement in Poland, as well as the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Though credit for these efforts tends to fall to the presidency of Ronald Reagan, it was, in fact, President Carter, who saw this unique opportunity to pressure the Soviet Union on its human rights record. Carter’s efforts represent a critical turning point in the last decade of the Cold War.
This program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Dr. Sean N. Kalic
Kalic, a Professor in the Department of Military History at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he has taught since 2004, is a Cold War scholar, who has written on the militarization of space, the global war on terrorism, US space policy, Cold War espionage, and the Russian Revolution. Additionally, he has presented lectures for the Slovenian General Staff, the Slovenian Command and General Staff College, the US Naval War College, and the US Army’s Futures Study Group.

Francesca Chambers and MJ Lee
2020-09-09 00:00
As we head into what promises to be a highly contentious election season, journalism has never been more vitally important. However, the media landscape is undergoing turbulent change with older media giving way to social media. Join CNN Political Correspondent MJ Lee and McClatchy White House Correspondent and KU graduate Francesca Chambers as they discuss the 2020 elections and the state of journalism in America. This event is co-sponsored by the KU Journalism and School and the Political Science Department.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Francesca Chambers is a White House Correspondent for McClatchy. She previously held the position of Senior White House Correspondent at DailyMail.com and its Emmy-winning, syndicated newsmagazine DailyMailTV. She is a proud graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas, from which she also has a BA in political science.
MJ Lee is a correspondent for CNN covering politics, campaigns, and national breaking news stories. She is currently covering the 2020 presidential elections. Before joining CNN, Lee was a finance and politics reporter at Politico in Washington, DC. She was born in South Korea and grew up in Hong Kong. She has a bachelor’s degree in government and Chinese from Georgetown University.

Marines Return to Vietnam
2020-09-10 00:00
In 1967, John Musgrave was wounded in Vietnam. More than fifty years later, he, along with fellow marine John Solbach, journalist Lindsey Foat, and historian Bill Tuttle, returned to the Southeast Asian country. In this program, the four guests will discuss this experience and what it was like to return while sharing images from the trip captured by Musgrave’s son, Daniel.
Lindsey Foat spent ten years working as a reporter, producer, and community engagement expert at Kansas City PBS. She led the station’s content and engagement efforts focused on veterans, including award-winning, local documentary, and innovative engagement initiatives for Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s The Vietnam War. Through that work, she was lucky to work with and befriend John Musgrave and joined him on his return trip to Vietnam. Currently, Lindsey is the Content and Communications Director at the Rabbit hole, which is an immersive museum for children’s literature.
Dan Musgrave is a writer and photographer with a particular interest in the intersections of the human and animal world. At the moment his efforts are mainly directed toward a collaborative memoir with his father, probing the interpersonal and intergenerational ramifications of combat. Dan’s work has earned recognition from the Iceland Writers Retreat, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Odyssey Writing Workshop, and several literary magazines and journals. He is a registered member of the Osage Nation, and an alum of Grinnell College.
John Musgrave was born in 1948 in Independence, Missouri—a suburb of Kansas City. After high school he enlisted in the Marine Corps, ultimately becoming a member of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. He served in Vietnam for 11 months before being permanently disabled by his third wound at the battle of Con Thien in November 1967. After returning to the states, John studied at Baker University in Baldwin City, KS, where he struggled with PTSD and suicidal tendencies. Eventually, he joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War, participating in protests in Washington, DC, and elsewhere around the country. After years of struggle, depression, and heart-searching, he learned to cope with his PTSD, though as with most veterans, that would remain a lifelong process. He has worked extensively with other veterans in suicide-prevention programs such as the National Veteran’s Wellness and Healing Center, and the U.S. Army’s Worldwide Stand-Down for Suicide Awareness. In recent years he has been particularly focused on post-9/11 vets.
John Solbach is a Lawrence attorney who served in Vietnam with the 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines Lima Company in 1967 and 1968. He served in the Kansas legislature for 14 years. He lives with his wife on a farm west of Lawrence
William M. Tuttle, Jr., is Professor Emeritus of American Studies at the University of Kansas. In support of his research, Bill Tuttle has been awarded major fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Henry A. Murray Research Center, Radcliffe College. He has also held residential fellowships at the Institute of Southern History, Johns Hopkins University, the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, Harvard University, and the Stanford University Humanities Center.

2020 CONSTITUTION DAY | Kansas in the U.S. Supreme Court
2020-09-15 00:00
KU Law Professor Lou Mulligan leads guests: Legal Director of the ACLU of Kansas, Lauren Bonds; Professor of Law Emeritus at Boston University School of Law, Larry Yackle and Constitutional Law Professor, Josh Blackman through a discussion of three of the most important cases appearing before the Supreme Court this fall.
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia – questioning whether religious organizations should be exempt from generally applicable laws that impinge upon religious practice.
Jones v. Mississippi – questioning whether and how juveniles may be imprisoned for life sentences.
California v. Texas – questioning the constitutionality of the ACA, i.e. ObamaCare.
This program is sponsored by Mark P. Johnson.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
South Texas College of Law Houston Professor, will discuss California v. Texas. Professor Blackman is co-counsel for an amicus party and filed a brief in the case. Professor Blackman earned his JD from George Mason University Law School and his BS from Pennsylvania State University.
Legal Director of the ACLU of Kansas, will discuss Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The ACLU is an amicus party in the case. Ms. Bonds earned her JD from Duke, and her BA from KU, where she was an All-American athlete.
Lumen “Lou” Mulligan joined the KU Law faculty in 2010, where he teaches predominantly civil litigation courses. He was named as an Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor in 2019. Mulligan also teaches undergraduate classes in the KU Honors Program. Mulligan served, or continues to serve, on the Kansas Judicial Council – Civil Rules Advisory Committee, the executive committee of the appellate section of the Kansas Bar Association, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeal Criminal Justice Act Panel, the board of directors for Kansas Legal Services, and the Kansas Court of Appeals Mediation Study committee. Mulligan frequently offers testimony to the Kansas legislature as well. Mulligan continues with representation in court, most often in an amicus curia or pro bono capacity.
Boston University Law School Professor, will discuss Jones v. Mississippi. Professor Yackle is co-counsel, an amicus party, and filed a brief in the case. Professor Yackle earned both his JD and BA from KU in addition to an LLM from Harvard Law School.

2020 FALL | Politics, Pandemic and Protests
2020-09-23 00:00 - 2020-11-18 00:00
Unpacking the 2020 general election with the Dole Institute’s fall fellow, Collen McCain Nelson, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Vice-President of the Kansas City Star.
Dole Fellow Colleen McCain Nelson
Read more about Dole Fellows >>
The Dole Discussion Groups are made possible by a grant from Newman’s Own.

Election 2020: The State of the Race
9/23/2020

As the 2020 presidential campaign enters the final sprint to the finish, we’ll kick off this fall discussion series by assessing the state of the race after a tumultuous and unpredictable spring and summer. Which states are likely to decide this election? What issues and messages are resonating with voters? This will be a broad overview of the political landscape and a prelude to future Dole Institute events, touching on campaign strategy, fundraising, and the state of play in the battle for control of Congress.
Allan J. Katz served as Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Portugal from March 2010 until August 2013. Upon returning to private life, Ambassador Katz joined the University of Missouri in Kansas City (UMKC) as a Distinguished Professor where he served from 2013 until 2019. In 2019, he joined the faculty of William Jewell College as Distinguished Professor in Residence. Additionally, in 2014, he founded and remains CEO and Chairman of an NGO, American Public Square, which brings together non-like-minded people to engage in civil, fact-based dialogue about polarizing issues. He serves as Executive Committee Chair of the Academic and Corporate Board to ISCTE Business School in Lisbon, Portugal. Additionally, he serves as a non-executive Board Member of EDP Renewables (global energy company, a leader in the utilities sector and part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index), a board member of the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Foundation, and a former board member of the International Relations Council of Kansas City.
Kevin Yoder is a 5th generation Kansan who represented the 3rd District of Kansas for four terms from 2011-2019. During his entire tenure in Congress, Kevin served on the House Appropriations Committee, where he chaired both the Homeland Security and the Legislative Branch Subcommittees. He regularly crossed the aisle working with members of both parties to push for key initiatives, including historic expansion of medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health and new investments in early childhood education programs like Head-start. Prior to serving in Congress, Kevin was elected four times to the Kansas State Legislature representing Overland Park and Leawood, and he served as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Kevin is a graduate of the University of Kansas.

Why did everyone underestimate Joe Biden?
9/30/2020

Even though Joe Biden entered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary as the front-runner, many political pundits and journalists lost confidence in the former vice president along the way, writing his political obituary and declaring him an also-ran who had missed his moment. How did they get this race so wrong? And at a moment when it appeared that Sen. Bernie Sanders was gaining steam and possibly emerging as an unstoppable force, how did Biden quickly change the narrative and begin to unify the party?
Edward-Isaac Dovere is a staff writer for The Atlantic, where he covers the presidential campaign. He got his start covering politics in his native New York and was the senior White House reporter for POLITICO in Barack Obama’s second term. He is currently working on a book about Democrats in the Trump years, tentatively titled, “You Are Right to Be Concerned,” out spring 2021.
Peter Nicholas is a White House reporter for The Atlantic. He has also worked at the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Times-Picayune newspaper.

How the Coronavirus Has Upended the 2020 Campaign
10/7/2020

With relatively little warning, the coronavirus pandemic brought the 2020 presidential campaign to a virtual halt, cancelling candidates’ rallies for months, throwing the conventions into limbo, shutting down in-person fundraisers and making gladhanding and personal appeals to voters an impossibility. For a time, President Donald Trump was confined to the White House, and Democratic nominee Joe Biden was forced to campaign from his basement in Delaware. How did the campaigns adapt? And how is COVID-19 still altering the dynamics of the race?

It’s the Economy, Stupid
10/14/2020

Conventional wisdom has long suggested that presidents win reelection when the economy is strong and lose when the economy is faltering. Will that hold true in the 2020 election? For three years, President Donald Trump could lay claim to a thriving economy, low unemployment and a strong stock market. But the bottom fell out when the coronavirus took hold in this country, spurring Depression-era unemployment and gutting entire industries. Will voters hold Trump responsible for the economic fallout from a pandemic?

A War of Disinformation
10/21/2020

What role is disinformation playing in the 2020 presidential campaign? In 2016, many were shocked — shocked! — to learn that completely false “news” stories about the election were shared far and wide on social media. Four years later, little has been done to slow the spread of disinformation on a variety of online platforms. Foreign governments have made no secret of their intent to meddle in our elections. And the president himself has had a tenuous relationship with the truth, elevating conspiracy theories and repeating falsehoods. What can voters do to separate fact from fiction?

Do Endorsements Matter?
10/28/2020

Time was, newspaper endorsements were a consequential boost for campaigns. But in an era of multiplying media outlets and declining newspaper subscriptions, do endorsements still carry the same weight? In 2016, Donald Trump earned the endorsements of only 20 daily newspapers in the entire country, but he won the White House. We’ll convene opinion journalists to explore what role editorial boards are playing in the 2020 election and consider the question of whether traditional candidate endorsements have outlived their usefulness.

Election 2020: Lessons Learned
11/18/2020

With the 2020 election now in the rearview mirror, we’ll do a deep dive into the deciding factors in this year’s presidential campaign. Did polls, journalists, and political prognosticators get it right this time? What surprised us on Election Day? Were the mistakes of 2016 repeated in 2020? We’ll wrap up this election season with an assessment of lessons learned from the 2020 campaign and a look ahead to what awaits the next president and Congress.

Seven Days in September 1814: The Turning Points of the War of 1812
2020-10-01 00:00
The British demands in mid-1814 were fierce and would have reduced the United States in size and limited its potential for expansion. The United States had declared war on Great Britain in 1812 because the British were seizing American merchant ships and cargoes, taking crewmen into the Royal Navy involuntarily, and providing arms to Native Americans on the frontier. However, American armies had lost battle after battle with little potential to accomplish the nation’s war goals. The British negotiating position at Ghent was to create an Indian buffer state north of the Ohio River, take about half of Maine, and demilitarize the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. They had captured Fort Niagara, occupied 100 miles of the coast of Maine, and burned Washington. Then, in one week in September 1814, the U.S. defended Baltimore (its 3rd largest city) and won the battle of Plattsburgh in New York. Two thousand soldiers besieged in Fort Erie broke out and pushed the British back 20 miles. After that, Duke Wellington advised the British government to drop any claims for territory and negotiate a settlement. British prospects for a decisive victory were not propitious and the war was very expensive. The British cabinet reluctantly agreed and the treaty was signed on Christmas Eve. The three American victories, “Seven Days in September,” were a turning point of the war and set America back on the course of greatness.
This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Rich Barbuto was raised on the shores of Lake Erie in New York State. Graduating from West Point in 1971, he served as an armor officer for twenty-three years in Germany, Korea, Canada, and other U.S. posts. Rich took an early interest in military education and taught at the Armor School, ROTC at Eastern Kentucky University, the Canadian Forces Staff College in Toronto, and the Command and General Staff College. He earned a Ph.D. in American History from KU and was the deputy director of the Department of Military History at CGSC for twelve years. Rich has written several books and numerous articles on the War of 1812 and is a frequent speaker at history conferences and public venues. Rich continues researching and writing military history; his fourth book is in the publication process with the University Press of Oklahoma.

A Conversation on Race Part II: Asian-Pacific and Hispanic concerns
2020-10-21 00:00
“The problem of racism in this country is multi-faceted and complex,” said Director Bill Lacy. “As we move forward in this series, we want to address additional communities and how racism affects them. For the second installment of ‘A Conversation on Race,’ we will discuss Asian-Pacific and Hispanic concerns. We look forward to another insightful, respectful, and important discussion with a stellar panel of guests.”
The event will feature Christina Haswood, Territory Senator Carmelo J. Ríos-Santiago, State Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, and former State Representative Jene Vickrey and will be moderated by Senior Associate Director of the Institute, Dr. Barbara Ballard.
Christina Haswood is a public health professional and a candidate for the Kansas House of Representatives in District 10. She is also a member of the Navajo Nation, and if elected, she would be just the third Native American in Kansas history to be a state legislature. She received endorsements from Emily’s List, the Kansas National Education Association, the Sunrise Movement of Lawrence Kansas, the Kansas Sierra Club, seven current Kansas state legislators, as well as former Governor Kathleen Sebelius and current Congresswoman Deb Haaland and Congresswoman Sharice Davids. She is currently running unopposed for the general election.
Carmelo J. Ríos-Santiago is the current Majority Leader of the Puerto Rico State Senate. In 2004, he was elected as one of the youngest Senators of his class, representing the Bayamón District of Puerto Rico and chaired the Municipal and Financial Affairs Committee. He was elected in 2018 as President of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, a non-profit organization representing over 400 elected Hispanic state legislators throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. During his tenure, he was also part of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Sharon Tomiko Santos was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1998. She chairs the House Education Committee and serves on the House Capital Budget Committee and Consumer Protection & Business Committee. She has received numerous awards for her legislative and community work, including the Kip Tokuda Community Leadership Award from the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation and the Leadership and Vision Award from Junior Achievement of Washington.
Jene Vickrey is life long resident of Louisburg, Kansas. He was elected to the Kansas House in 1992 and recently retired after 28 years. He was elected to serve as Assistant Majority Leader, Speaker Pro Tem, and Majority Leader for two terms.

Spring 1944: The Turning Point in the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II
2020-11-05 00:00
In the spring of 1944, the conflict in the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) began to turn in favor of the Allies. The Japanese, in two offensives: ICHIGO (Operation Number 1) in China; and, U-GO (Operation C) in India, endeavored to take China out of the war and drive the British from India. General William Slim’s 14th Army successfully defended at Kohima and Imphal and quickly launched a counterattack into Burma. General Joseph Stilwell’s forces from the Chinese Army in India supported this effort along with Orde Wingate’s Chindits and American advised Chinese forces from Y-Force headquartered in Kunming. In China, Chiang Kai-shek’s forces eventually turned the tide on the Japanese attempt to knock out airfields in China capable of hitting the mainland and secure a landline of communication from Korea to Southeast Asia. The final Allied victory in mainland Asia began with the destruction of Japanese forces in China, Burma, and India in the spring of 1944.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Dr. Geoff Babb
Dr. Joseph G. D. (Geoff) Babb is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel currently serving as an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Dr. Babb holds a BA from Bowdoin College, a MPA from Clark University, a MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Kansas. Dr. Babb served as a China Foreign Area Officer educated in Hong Kong and Beijing. He served in Washington D.C. at the Defense Intelligence Agency and on the Joint Staff. He also was a regional desk officer in Hawaii at US Pacific and Army Pacific Commands. He has written on the American military’s role in China in Volumes I and II of Through the Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Lens: Perspectives on the Operational Environment. His most recent publication is a chapter on the Korea War published in Weaving the Tangled Web; Military Deception in Large-Scale Combat Operations issued by Army University Press.

2020 | Major General Diana M. Holland
2020-11-12 00:00
This year’s Elizabeth Dole Women in Leadership lecture will be given by Major General Diana M. Holland of the U.S. Army.
“We are thrilled to have Major General Holland as our guest for this year’s Elizabeth Dole Women in Leadership lecture,” said Director Bill Lacy. “Her distinguished and storied career with the U.S. Army is an inspiration. Her lifetime of service to this country made her a natural choice.”
This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
A downloadable, printable program for this event is available here.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Holland graduated from the United States Military Academy and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers in 1990. She served in Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Joint Task Force Sapper, and Task Force Diamond in Afghanistan. She also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As commander of the South Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she oversaw support to disaster-stricken states following hurricanes Irma, Maria, Florence, and Michael.
In 2015, Holland was the first woman appointed commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In that same year, she was the first woman to hold the title of deputy commander of support in a light infantry division. She currently serves with the Army Corps of Engineers as the commanding general of the Mississippi Valley Division, and as the president of the Mississippi River Commission, both firsts for a woman in these appointments.
Holland’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal, to name a few.

The Battle of Ramadi, 2006
2020-12-03 00:00
The Battle of Ramadi in 2006-07 is one of the lesser-known but arguably one of the fiercest and the most decisive battle of the Iraq War. This battle marked a change in the US understanding of the war in Iraq and the adoption of highly controversial and effective tactics that reflected that changed understanding. The Battle of Ramadi would become the model for what came to be called “The Sunni Awakening,” and for General Petraeus’s “Surge” strategy which was implemented two years later. It foretold a very sophisticated understanding of counter-insurgency which ultimately led to military success in Iraq.
This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Dr. Louis A. DiMarco retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army in 2005 after more than 24 years of active service as an armored cavalry officer. His military assignments include cavalry troop command, instructor at the US Army Armor School, and staff assignments at all levels from Division through Joint Headquarters. Dr. DiMarco’s civilian education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, a Masters in Military Art and Science from the US Army Command and Staff College, Fort Leavenworth Kansas, a Masters of Arts Degree in International Relations from Salve Regina University, Rhode Island, and a Ph.D. in History from Kansas State University. Dr. DiMarco has authored several important Army doctrinal manuals including FM 3-06, Urban Operations (2002). He was a contributing author to FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency (2006). Dr. DiMarco has written and lectured on a variety of military affairs topics including military government and civil affairs, armored cavalry and reconnaissance, urban warfare, and counterinsurgency. His work has been published by the Association of the U.S. Army, the Combat Studies Institute, and a variety of professional journals including Armor, Military Review, Proceedings, the Small Wars Journal, Parameters, and the Global War Studies Journal. He is also the author of the booklet Military Operations and the Middle Eastern City (Combat Studies Institute, 2003), and two books: War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider (Westholme, 2008); and Concrete Hell: Modern Urban Operations from Stalingrad to Iraq (Osprey, 2012). His most recent work, Concrete Hell, has been translated into numerous foreign languages, used as a text at the US, German and Republic of Korea Staff and War Colleges, is listed on the Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List, and is considered a seminal work on this subject.
Dr. DiMarco is married to retired Army Colonel Joyce DiMarco who teaches leadership at the US Army Command and General Staff College, and they have two daughters, both serving in the military: one is an intelligence officer in the US Air Force stationed at Offit AFB, Nebraska, and the other is an Army Physician’s Assistant assigned to the Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. He lives on a 56-acre farm in Leavenworth County, Kansas, with his wife Joyce, four dogs, five horses, and a John Deere tractor.

2020 National Post-Election Conference
2021-01-03 00:00 - 2021-01-16 00:00
The Dole Institute’s Pose-Election Conference will take on a new form during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our Post-Election Conference is one of the most anticipated events we have at the institute,” said Director Bill Lacy. “However, COVID-19 made it impossible to hold the conference the way we have in the past. Given the historic nature of this year’s election, we felt canceling the conference was not an option. So, we have gathered eleven world-class guests for a video series that delves deeply into one of the most unique national elections in our country’s history.”
In this new format, each guest was interviewed individually by Lacy, allowing for in-depth analysis and insight. All eleven videos are currently available for viewing. The series can be binge-watched or doled out over time.

Michael Glassner

Michael Glassner, Chief Operating Officer for Trump’s reelection campaign, discusses how the election played out from the Trump campaign’s point of view. He focusses on the time between the midterms and now, and how things like the pandemic, racial justice protests, and the debates were approached by the campaign. He also discusses the trump campaign’s messaging strategy and stories from the campaign trail, especially the rallies.
Michael S. Glassner was Senior Advisor and Chief Operating Officer for Donald J. Trump, Inc., as well as a top strategist of the President’s 2020 campaign organization, and currently serves as President of C&M Transcontinental. Michael formerly served as Regional Political Director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in the Southwest Region, Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the IDT Corporation, and was a top political and policy advisor to Senator Bob Dole. He was also a Dole Institute Visiting Fellow.

Jeff Greenfield

Jeff Greenfield, author, journalist, former political analyst for CBS, CNN, ABC, and current analyst for PBS, talks about his background as a long-time political analyst in journalism. He discusses his experience covering Trump’s presidency and the election, and why he thinks the election played out the way it did. He gives his insights into America’s political landscape, talking about where the two parties stand now and what he thinks their challenges will be in the future.
Jeff Greenfield, a veteran political, media and culture reporter, and analyst has spent more than thirty years on network television while also working as a print journalist and best-selling author. In his 30+ plus years at CBS, CNN, ABC, and PBS, he has reported on matters political and cultural. Greenfield also has reported on the media, culture, and trends for the cable network. He is currently a columnist for POLITICO and a contributing correspondent for PBS’“Newshour.” Greenfield also worked as a speechwriter for the Senate, Robert Kennedy, and John Lindsay and served as a columnist for TIME Magazine.

Eric Pahls

Eric Pahls, who managed the campaign for Senator-elect Roger Marshall, gives an account of the campaign from start to finish, adding his insights about various points in the campaign. He talks about messaging strategies and T.V. ads and Marshall as a candidate and how he stacked up against Barbara Bollier. He also talked about Republicans and Democrats in general and what he thinks about the challenges the parties will face in the future.
Eric Pahls is a proud native Kansan who served as Campaign Manager for Dr. Roger Marshall’s successful 2020 U.S. Senate Campaign. Prior to 2020, he served as businesswoman Carly Fiorina’s Communications Director, and as the youngest Press Secretary on Capitol Hill after working on Dr. Marshall’s successful 2016 Congressional campaign, which notably unseated the incumbent. Eric is a graduate of the University of Kansas and was a Student Advisory Board Member and student staff member at the Dole Institute of Politics throughout college.”

Max Glass

Political Campaign Manager Max Glass discusses the Barbara Bollier campaign, including its strengths, weaknesses, and challenges as they faced their competition for a senate seat. He reflects on what he would have done differently and why the campaign made the decisions they did. He has worked on a variety of Democratic campaigns including the congressional campaign of former Presidential candidate Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of HI.

Katie Glueck

New York Times writer Katie Glueck discusses the early campaign of Joe Biden, what his campaign did for Super Tuesday and primary season in general, and how both campaigns operated during the pandemic. Glueck speaks about what it’s like covering a campaign during a pandemic and goes on to address the general election and Biden’s path to victory. She discusses the results of the election for all sections of politics and the upcoming Georgia Senate race runoff.
Katie Glueck is a national politics reporter at The New York Times, where she covered the 2020 presidential campaign as a lead reporter on Joe Biden. She previously covered politics for McClatchy’s Washington bureau and Politico. Her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Washingtonian magazine, Town & Country magazine, and The Austin American-Statesman. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and is a native of Leawood, Kan. She lives in New York City.

Erin Wilson

Erin Wilson, National Political Director for President-Elect Biden, describes what working on the Biden campaign was like at the beginning and what trials the Biden campaign went through to secure their path to the candidacy and ultimately the presidency. She addresses how the campaign reacted to the George Floyd incident. Wilson discusses the selection of Kamala Harris as the vice president. Differences between how Republicans and Democrats campaigned. Pathway to victory. She describes creating a virtual campaign and now a digital inauguration in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wilson, a Philadelphia native and national political director for Biden’s presidential campaign, currently serves as deputy executive director of the inauguration committee. She formerly worked for Sen. Bob Casey and the Democratic National Committee.

Joe Lenski

Pollster Joe Lenski discusses exit polling and the unique challenges of the 2020 election. He examines what type of people voted for which candidate and analyzes the data from the past year.
Joe Lenski is co-founder and Executive Vice President of Edison Research. Under his supervision, Edison Research currently conducts all exit polls in the United States for the four major news organizations. Joe has also served as Councilor-at-Large for the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Secretary-Treasurer of AAPOR, and Statistical Analyst for the CBS News/New York Times Poll.”

Frank Fahrenkopf

Frank Fahrenkopf, former RNC chairman and co-founder of the Commission on Presidential Debates, talks about the history of presidential debates in our country, sharing stories about past debates. Additionally, he discusses how the debates work and their importance. He recounts how he founded the commission.
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. is Co-Chair of the Commission on Presidential Debate, which he co-founded in 1987. He was President and CEO of the American Gaming Association until he retired in 2013. A lawyer by profession, Frank gained national prominence during the 1980s when he served as chairman of the Republican Party for six of President Ronald Reagan’s eight years in the White House. He also was a founder of the National Endowment for Democracy and the International Republican Institute.

Dan Balz

Washington Post Chief Correspondent Dan Balz discusses Biden’s path to victory – from the primary election season to November 3. He speaks at length about how the pandemic affected both campaigns, the importance of adaptability during the pandemic, and how campaigns put together their respective conventions. He also analyzes what the campaigns did to reach their electoral votes. Balz shares his insights on the first presidential debate, polling, and the months leading into November.
Dan Balz is chief correspondent at The Washington Post. He joined the paper in 1978 and has been on the front lines of the Post’s political coverage as a reporter or editor throughout his career. He is the author or co-author of several books, including two New York Times bestsellers: Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America and, with co-author Haynes Johnson, “The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election.”

Steven Jacques

Democratic advisor Steven Jacques reflects on the beginning of the year for the Democratic race, how both campaigns reached voters during the primary and their different approaches to conventions. He discusses the presidential debates and what cable news has done to politics. He offers insight into the future of campaigning.
Steven has served on the White House staff and worked for the White House as an outside contractor in three administrations, leading presidential and vice-presidential advance teams throughout the U.S. and the world. He served as a senior official in the U.S. State Department, U.S. Commerce Department, and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. He has served on national staff in twelve presidential campaigns, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, and was Obama’s senior national lead advance throughout the ’07 – ’08 campaign. He is a former senior fellow of the Dole Institute of Politics.

Francesca Chambers

Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent for McClatchy, talks about her experience covering the White House over the course of the last year. She gives insight into how the White House responded to various events, such as COVID, racial justice, the debates, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, and how they affected Trump’s reelection campaign. She also discusses what it was like being a reporter in the White House during the pandemic, the election, and her plans to cover the Biden Administration.
Francesca Chambers is a White House Correspondent for McClatchy. She previously held the position of Senior White House Correspondent at DailyMail.com and its Emmy-winning, syndicated newsmagazine DailyMailTV. She has covered the White House since late 2014 across two administrations – Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump – and reported on the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in 2016. She is a proud graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas, from which she also has a B.A. in political science. She was a member of the Dole Institute Student Advisory Board.

The Medieval Theory of John of Salisbury
2021-01-07 00:00
John of Salisbury (died 1180) was a prolific and erudite English writer. Dubbed “the best classical scholar of his age,” he was clerk to St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury and, later, became the bishop of Chartres. Among his numerous works is the book Policraticus, which, despite its fame as a political and moral treatise, has been virtually ignored by military historians. More’s the pity: Policraticus was read by military commanders and strategists into the 18th century and contained concepts on generalship, logistics, pay, discipline, training, and the military-state relationship that appeared in later–and purportedly innovative–treatises by such later writers as Thomas Aquinas, Christine de Pizan, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Justus Lipsius. In this talk, Professor John D. Hosler will survey the martial content in John of Salisbury’s writings and explain how he serves as the medieval bridge between ancient and early-modern military theory.
Submit your questions for Dr. Hosler to dolesocial@ku.edu for the question and answer portion of the program.
This event is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
John D. Hosler (Ph.D., University of Delaware) is Professor of Military History at the Command and General Staff College and an expert in warfare in medieval Europe and the Middle East. He is the author of sixty articles and book reviews and author or editor of six books: the forthcoming Seven Myths of Military History (Hackett); Military Cultures and Martial Enterprises in the Middle Ages (2020); The Siege of Acre, 1189-1191 (2018), which was a Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year; Where Heaven and Earth Meet (2013); John of Salisbury: Military Authority of the Twelfth-Century Renaissance (2012); and Henry II: a Medieval Soldier at War (2007). He currently serves as the President of De Re Militari: the Society for Medieval Military History and a Trustee of the United States Commission for Military History, and he is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

46: The Biden Presidency
2021-02-03 00:00
Researcher for Richard Ben Cramer’s landmark book What It Takes: The Way to the White House and assistant for several autobiographical books for President-elect Joe Biden, including his latest, Promises to Keep, Mark Zwonitzer will use his in-depth knowledge of the 46th President of the United States to provide us with insight into what can be expected from his administration.
Mark Zwonitzer is an author and documentary filmmaker specializing in American history and politics, with an emphasis on biography. He has been producing, directing and/or writing acclaimed documentaries for PBS for more than twenty-five years. He is the writer of the Emmy-winning JFK: Like No Other, and a four-hour Emmy-nominated biography of Walt Disney. His work in television has been honored with the George Foster Peabody Award, the Writers Guild Award, and numerous Primetime Emmy nominations. From 1986 to 1992 Zwonitzer reported the book What It Takes: The Way to the White House with author Richard Ben Cramer. What it Takes was recognized by New York University as one of the Top 100 works of Journalism of the 20th century. He also assisted President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., in his two books: Promises to Keep and Promise Me, Dad.

ISIS, Abu Bakr Naji, and the Management of Savagery
2021-02-04 00:00
Al-Qaeda and ISIS used the Management of Savagery as both an operational concept and doctrine. Written for al-Qaeda in 2004, but demonstrated most thoroughly by ISIS from 2014 to 2021, the online published work explains how Islamist ideological groups hoped to defeat the West, in general, and the United States, in specific. This presentation explains the main themes of the work and how it was put into practice.
During the event, submit your questions for Dr. Steed to dolequestions@ku.edu for the question-and-answer portion of the program.
This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Brian L. Steed
Brian L. Steed is a retired US Army lieutenant colonel with more than thirty years of civilian and uniformed experience. He is a practitioner, student, and writer of military theory, Middle East culture, and history. Brian is an associate professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College where he was the 2018 Military Educator of the Year. He is also a senior fellow at Narrative Strategies. As an Army officer, he was a Middle East foreign area officer, which included eight and a half consecutive years living and working in the Middle East, to include assignments in Jordan, Israel, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. Brian holds a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in political science and history. Brian has written and edited numerous books, articles, and papers on military theory, military history, and cultural awareness. His most recent books include ISIS: The Essential Reference Guide, Iraq War: The Essential Reference Guide, ISIS: An Introduction and Guide to the Islamic State, Voices of the Iraq War: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life (Voices of an Era), and Bees and Spiders: Applied Cultural Awareness and the Art of Cross-Cultural Influence.

2021 | Where Do We Go from Here?
2021-02-10 00:00 - 2021-03-02 00:00
Richard Norton Smith is a nationally recognized authority on the American presidency. He worked for Senator Bob Dole, with whom he collaborated on books. Mr. Smith served as Director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Center, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
In December 2001, Mr. Smith became director of the new Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. There he supervised construction of the Institute’s $11.3 million permanent home and launched the Presidential Lecture Series and other high-profile programs.

The Republicans: The Reagan Playbook
February 10, 2021

Presidential scholar Richard Norton Smith examines three successful Republicans, with a focus on Reagan, whose 1980 election win paved the way for a center-right nation and set the stage for the last 12-year period of one-party White House control since FDR.

FDR Revisited: Learning from FDR, Clinton & Obama
February 17, 2021

As his administration begins, President Biden’s likely role models will be FDR, Clinton, and Obama. What can he learn from them?

Breaking Precedent: The Last Four Years
February 23, 2021

The last four years featured a most unconventional presidency. What has changed? What will go back to normal?

What I’ve Learned; Plus “Ask Richard”
March 02, 2021

In the final lecture of the series, Smith will present his checklist for a successful presidency. This program will feature an expanded audience Q&A session where the audience can ask him questions about the presidency.

Voices from the Big First, 1961-1968
2021-02-11 08:00 - 2021-10-31 17:00 | Elizabeth Dole Gallery & Reading Room, 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, 66045, United States
In 1961, Kansas, with the rest of the United States, found itself at a political, social, and cultural crossroads. Featuring a selection of constituent letters written to then-Congressman Bob Dole from the collections of the Dole Archives, this original exhibit curated by Kansas history scholar Virgil Dean offers a window into the hopes and fears of everyday Kansans as they responded to change at home and conflict abroad.
This exhibit and associated programs examine where Kansas has been and where it’s going to complement Humanities Kansas initiative: Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a partnership between Humanities Kansas and the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program. Funding for the exhibit and related programs was provided by Humanities Kansas

2021 SPRING | The Modern American City: Past, Present, and Future
2021-02-24 08:00 - 2021-04-07 17:00
Dole Fellow Patrick Tuohey
Read more about Dole Fellows >>
This program is made possible through the generosity of Newman’s Own Foundation

The Shifts that Shape Our Cities, Demographic Trends
2/24/2021

Please join us for our first Discussion Group of the semester, “The Shifts that Shape Our Cities, Demographic Trends.” This program is the first of our Spring Discussion Groups series, “The Modern American City: Past, Present, and Future.
Our Spring Discussion Groups Fellow, Patrick Tuohey, welcomes Wendell Cox as his special guest for this week. Wendell Cox is principal of Demographia (St. Louis, MO-IL). He was appointed to three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and was appointed by Speaker Newt Gingrich to the Amtrak Reform Council. He is co-author of the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey and author of Demographia World Urban Areas. Cox is also a Senior Fellow at the Urban Reform Institute (Houston) and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (Winnipeg).
Wendell Cox is principal of Demographia (St. Louis, MO-IL). He was appointed to three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which was a predecessor to the Los Angeles County MTA. Speaker Newt Gingrich appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council. He is co-author of the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey and author of Demographia World Urban Areas. He is a Senior Fellow at the Urban Reform Institute (Houston) and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (Winnipeg) as well as a member of the Board of Advisors at the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University. He served as a visiting professor of transport at the Conservatoire National Des Arts Et Metiers (a national university) in Paris. He earned a BA in Government from California State University, Los Angeles, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Trends in Municipal Growth and Finance
3/3/2021

Cities are the engines of state and national economies, yet in many places, taxes and public debt are at the highest levels they’ve ever been. Are the increased costs justified by the returns on public investment in the areas of public safety and infrastructure?
Please join us for the second installment of our Spring 2021 Discussion Groups series, “The Modern American City: Past, Present, and Future.” Our Spring Fellow Patrick Tuohey welcomes University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Professor Whitney Afonso, and Kansas City-based architect Dennis Strait for a conversation on what finance and budgeting look like at the local level and how these fields have adapted with time.

Segregation, Race, and City Policy
3/10/2021

Beginning in the 1920s, state and federal policy aided and abetted the segregation of Americans through housing policies, zoning ordinances, economic development, and urban revitalization. Although much of these aims have been discarded, the policies are still with us. This discussion will identify which remnants are still with us and how cities can finally put them to rest.
“Segregation, Race, and City Policy” will feature our special guests, Edward J. Pinto and Mark Treskon. Edward J. Pinto is an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) resident fellow and director of AEI’s Housing Center. The Center monitors the US markets using a unique set of Housing Market Indicators. Active in housing finance for over 40 years, he was an executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s. Mark Treskon is a senior research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. His current projects include an evaluation of financial coaching programs and a study measuring the effects of arts-related initiatives on community development. Treskon has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on community-based planning, home lending policy advocacy, and the arts economy.

Subsidies in the City
3/17/2021

The competition among cities to woo Amazon’s new headquarters brought national attention to the use and abuse of economic development subsidies, but the practice is not new. In fact, the value of such subsidies is staggering and seems to show no signs of slowing. This discussion would help quantify the amount of subsidies, how cities benefit, and how public policy can be changed to improve outcomes for taxpayers.
Please join us for the fourth installment of our Spring 2021 Discussion Groups series, The Modern American City: Past, Present, and Future. Our Spring Fellow Patrick Tuohey welcomes guests Heywood Sanders, Professor of Public Administration at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and Michael Lefaive, Senior Director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Effective Housing Policy
3/24/2021

Housing policy is again capturing the national spotlight. Local policies have restricted the development of new housing stock and as a result, in places like San Francisco and Seattle, housing prices have skyrocketed. But even smaller cities like Kansas City have seen the impacts. What are the underlying causes of the phenomenon, how great are the impacts, and what policies can help alleviate the problem?
“Effective Housing Policy” will feature our host Patrick Tuohey, as well as special guests Emily Hamilton and Kirk McClure. Hamilton is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and McClure is a professor emeritus of urban planning in the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration.

Opportunities in the Gig Economy
3/31/2021

Technology companies such as Uber and Lyft have created opportunities for individuals to leverage their cars, and their downtime, to earn money on the side. Airbnb and Vrbo have done the same through short-term rentals. While these are some of the more familiar companies in the so-called gig economy, they are by no means the only ones. What is the future of the gig economy, and how should cities be reacting?
Please join us for the sixth installment of our Spring 2021 Discussion Groups series, “The Modern American City: Past, Present, and Future.” Our Spring Fellow Patrick Tuohey welcomes guests Steve King, Partner at Emergent Research, and Arun Sundararajan, Harold Price Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Technology, Operations and Statistics at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Poverty in American Cities
4/7/2021

Cities large and small are facing some existential issues, as we’ve covered over the past several weeks. Often they are saddled with outdated approaches or just simply bad habits. How can cities and towns learn from their mistakes and develop public policy in a way that is sustainable?
Please join us for the final installment of our Spring 2021 Discussion Groups series, “The Modern American City: Past, Present, and Future.” Our Spring Fellow Patrick Tuohey welcomes guest Jesús Gerena, CEO of Family Independence Initiative, and Angela Rachidi, Rowe Scholar in poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, for a conversation on urban poverty and how to combat it.

John Boyd and Air Power Theory
2021-03-04 00:00
Brash. Brilliant. Pompous. Ground-breaking. The list goes on but fails to capture the drive, the talent, the intellectual horsepower, or the creativity of Colonel (R) John Boyd, USAF. There are many scholars and Boyd fans who contend that Boyd is the greatest military theorist that you have never heard of, but should have. Throughout his storied, if tumultuous career, Boyd developed a well-earned reputation for identifying problems of air combat, aircraft design, and military strategy and generating powerful solutions, which usually challenged the system, existing norms, and business as usual, but always advanced military theory and ideas. This presentation will explore John Boyd the person, his intellectual processes, and his ideas to better understand his contribution to strategy and warfighting.
During the event, submit your questions for Mr. Johnson to dolequestions@ku.edu for the question-and-answer portion of the program.
This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Christopher Johnson
Christopher Johnson is an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS, where he teaches in the Department of Military History. He served for over 31 years as an officer in the U.S. Army with operational tours throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Johnson is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, focusing on the U.S. Occupation of Japan after World War II.

Historians on “Hamilton”: How a Blockbuster Musical Is Restaging America’s Past
2021-03-09 00:00
America has gone Hamilton crazy. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical has spawned sold-out performances, a triple platinum cast album, and a score so catchy that it is being used to teach U.S. history in classrooms across the country. But just how historically accurate is Hamilton? And how is the show itself making history? Our guests examine what the musical got right, what it got wrong, and why it matters.
Claire Bond Potter is Professor of History at The New School for Social Research, New York, NY, and co-Executive Editor of Public Seminar, a digital journal of ideas and culture aimed at a general audience. Her writing has appeared in general audience publications such The New York Times, The Washington Post, Jacobin, The Bulwark, and Dissent.
Renee C. Romano is the Robert S. Danforth Professor of History and Professor of Comparative American Studies and Africana Studies at Oberlin College in Ohio. A specialist in twentieth and twenty-first century American cultural and political history and in the field of historical memory, she is the author of Racial Reckoning; Reopening America’s Civil Rights Trials and Race Mixing: Black-White Marriage in Postwar America.

“UnRepresented” – Documentary Screening & Filmmaker Q&A
2021-03-16 00:00
UnRepresented is an award-winning documentary that uncovers the mechanisms that drive the cycle of corruption in Congress—giving political insiders enormous, unchecked power. The film explores how special interests bankroll political campaigns and relentlessly lobby to rig the system in their favor, all while following the letter of the law. Dole Institute audience members can take part in an exclusive viewing of the documentary before its debut on PBS. During a follow-up event, a panel of experts will discuss the problems highlighted in the documentary, and the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel.
The panel features the panel will feature UnRepresented filmmaker Andrew Rodney, businessman and leading voice of the Independent Movement Greg Orman, and Mary Banwart, an expert in political campaign communication at the Department of Communications at KU. The live online discussion will highlight influences in campaigns and politics, current reform efforts, and filmmaker insights on the making of the film.

Birch Bayh: Making a Difference
2021-03-23 00:00
Author Robert Blaemire will share insights from his book, a biography of Senator Birch Bayh. Bayh served the people of Indiana for over 25 years and sponsored landmark legislation throughout his career, including the Bayh-Dole Act. The bill, co-sponsored with Senator Bob Dole, changed the way inventions created through federal research and development could be licensed by the private sector.
Robert Blaemire has been an active participant in politics all of his adult life. Born and raised in Indiana, his career began at the age of 18 upon entering George Washington University. His employment with Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN) began in 1967 during Bob’s freshman year and concluded with Bayh’s unsuccessful re-election campaign in 1980. In 1991, Bob created Blaemire Communications, a political computer services firm serving Democratic campaigns, progressive organizations, and political consultants.

Denis Mahan and the Foundations of American Theory
2021-04-01 00:00
During the first half of the nineteenth century, no military thinker arguably had more impact on the United States Army than Denis Hart Mahan. By the time he graduated at the top of his class at West Point in 1824, Mahan had become a protégé of Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer, whose wide-ranging reforms would win him recognition as “Father of the Military Academy.” In 1830, Mahan accepted appointment as Professor of Civil and Military Engineering at West Point and carried his mentor’s work forward in the decades that followed. Mahan’s writings and influence on the officers who, after surviving “Old Cobbon Sense’s” classroom, would dominate the Army nearly to the end of the 19th century made him one of the most important figures in the evolution of American warfare. This talk will describe Mahan’s life, his role in shaping the military academy, the ideas that he promoted in the army, and his place in the American military experience.
Submit your questions for Dr. Rafuse to dolequestions@ku.edu for the question-and-answer portion of the program.
This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.
Ethan S. Rafuse received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and since 2004 has been a member of the faculty at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, where he is a professor of military history.

A Conversation on Race Part III: Baseball: The Color Barrier
2021-04-14 00:00
The third installment of the series “A Conversation on Race” will feature the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendrick, Scout for the New York Yankees Darryl Monroe, and will be moderated by Senior Associate Director of the Institute, Dr. Barbara W. Ballard.
“Since the founding of the first professional baseball league in this country, racism has been a persistent problem,” said Director Bill Lacy. “For the third episode of ‘A Conversation on Race,’ we will discuss the color barrier in baseball and the courageous men who broke through. Bob Kendrick is the ideal guest to explore this topic and we look forward to what will be a fascinating and insightful evening.”
The program will explore the factors that made Major League Baseball a flashpoint for civil rights in 1947, more than a decade before the marches and rallies of the 1960s. The event streams the day before Jackie Robinson Day, in which all Major League Baseball players wear jerseys with his number “42.” This program will discuss the man who became the focus of a nation as he walked on the field as the first professional black athlete in the U.S. to shatter the color barrier.
Bob Kendrick was named President of the NLBM in March of 2011. Kendrick has been responsible for the creation of several signature museum educational programs and events including the Hall of Game, which annually honors former MLB greats who played the game in the spirit and signature style of the Negro Leagues. Kendrick has become one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race, and diversity.
Darryl Monroe graduated from Lawrence High School in 1990 and went on to play baseball at KU from 1991-1994 where he was a member of the 1993 College World Series team. He was drafted in the 9th round by the Detroit Tigers in 1994 and played 4 years of minor league baseball with the Tigers and the Independent Minor Leagues. Monroe started scouting with the Montreal Expos in 1998, then worked in the scouting department and the player development department with the Atlanta Braves for 4 years starting in 2000. He has been working in the scouting department with the New York Yankees from 2007 till the present.

Jean-Arthur Régibeau
2021-05-05 00:00
The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas has announced that the guest for the 2021 Dole Lecture will be the Ambassador of Belgium to the United States Jean-Arthur Régibeau. This year’s lecture will take place on Wednesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. on the institute’s YouTube channel.
“Ambassador Régibeau is only the second seated ambassador to be a guest at the institute,” Dole Institute Director Bill Lacy said. “As the world begins to emerge from the COVID pandemic, he will bring a unique perspective on what lies ahead for U.S. and European relations.”
Régibeau presented his credentials to the U.S. in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 2020, and took up his duties as Ambassador. He entered the office as major transitions dominated the global political and economic landscape including the presidential administration change in the U.S. and the worldwide vaccination effort to end the pandemic. He will discuss these massive changes, focusing on Belgium, the European Union, and what role the U.S. will play.
Régibeau joined the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998. He was the diplomatic advisor to the Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2002 and he went on to be First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in Berlin. From 2003 to 2007, Régibeau returned to Brussels as Head of the Private Office of the Minister of Defense. In 2007, he was appointed Director General in charge of Multilateral Organizations at the Foreign Ministry. In this capacity, he managed some aspects of the Belgian presidency of the EU in 2010. From 2012 to 2016, he also was Deputy Commissioner for the commemoration of World War I. In 2016, he became Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus, and Uzbekistan.
