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X-WR-CALNAME:Kurt Graham - Director of the Adams Presidential Center
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Mountain Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260817T230651Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_47191010672681
DTSTART:20250325T173000Z
DTEND:20250325T183000Z
DESCRIPTION:Howard R. Driggs Memorial Lecture\n\nDr. Kurt Graham joined the
  Adams Presidential Center as its inaugural president on October 15\, 2024
 .\n\nPrevious to joining the APC\, Graham was the Director of the Harry S.
  Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence\, Missouri. As dir
 ector\, he oversaw a $30M renovation of the principal museum exhibits and 
 dramatically expanded the Library’s educational and public programming. 
 He has also directed the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Ce
 nter of the West in Cody\, Wyoming\, and the Church History Museum in Salt
  Lake City.\n\nPrior to his work in the public history field\, Graham was 
 a member of the history faculty at California State University\, San Berna
 rdino\, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in American pol
 itical and legal/constitutional history. He has a Ph.D. in American histor
 y from Brown University and a B.A. and an M.A. from Brigham Young Universi
 ty in English and American studies\, respectively. He is the author of To 
 Bring Law Home: The Federal Judiciary in Early National Rhode Island (Nort
 hern Illinois University Press\, 2010).\n\nSynopsis:\n\nThe Howard R. Drig
 gs Memorial Lecture on March 25\, 2025 featured Director of the Adams Pres
 idential Center\, Dr. Kurt Graham. His presentation was titled\, “Presid
 ential Legacies in Four Centuries”.\n\nDr. Graham began his presentation
  by saying\, “Americans love their presidents… even when we don’t ag
 ree with or appreciate or even respect the person in the office\, American
 s hold the office itself in an almost kind of civic reverence.” His pres
 entation followed the legacies of John Adams (18th century)\, John Quincy 
 Adams (19th century)\, Harry Truman (20th century)\, and George W. Bush (2
 1st century). He discussed some common themes amongst these four president
 s\, noting that none of them have monuments\, asking the audience: “Why 
 do we remember some of our leaders on paper only\, in books\, and we remem
 ber others in stone?” \n\nThe second link he noted between these four pr
 esidents was foreign policy. He stated that\, “Every one of these four p
 residents came into office not necessarily intending to be a foreign polic
 y\, or in some cases wartime\, president.” He spoke further of how each 
 president had dealt with foreign policy and being an international leader\
 , saying\, “sometimes history sort of thrusts upon a president things th
 at he has to do that he wouldn’t otherwise like to do or think about”.
  \n\nAnother link was the way each of them came to the presidency\, and ho
 w they each faced challenges that brought them to the office. He shared th
 e stories of each election\, all of which had some obstacles to overcome b
 efore the men were elected. \n\nThe next thread between each president was
  character. Dr. Graham spoke very candidly of each president\, sharing the
 ir achievements\, beliefs\, failures\, and experiences. He added that one 
 of the most important precedents was given by John Adams—a peaceful tran
 sition of power\, which is an integral part of the American presidency. \n
 \nThe final thread he spoke about was the notion of patriotism. He began\,
  defining it\, “patriotism is positive\, it leans neither right nor left
 \, it’s not progressive\, it’s not reactionary\, it’s not woke\, it
 ’s not MAGA\, it’s not Democrat\, it’s not Republican\, it’s a lov
 e of country.” In terms of the presidents\, that notion of patriotism wa
 s the willingness to step up and serve\, Dr. Graham stated. \n\nHe wrapped
  up his presentation by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Make your own Bibl
 e. Take those statements\, take those words\, take those quotes that have 
 come to you like the blast of trumpet out of Seneca\, Cicero\, John\, Paul
 \, Moses\, and Shakespeare. Take those words that resonate in your heart\,
  put those together\, make your own Bible.” He borrowed the concept\, as
 king the audience to take those words\, those beliefs\, and make their own
  Mount Rushmore.\n\nHe finished by saying\, “We have seen great leadersh
 ip before\, and we will see it again. We will see it when we demand the hu
 manity and courage of those who would be our leaders to do what we’ve se
 en other leaders do. We will be well led again when we require our represe
 ntatives to reach beyond their base voters and base instincts\, to connect
  with what Lincoln called\, ‘the better angels of our nature”. \n \n\n
 Video:\n\n\n\nPodcast
GEO:37.676662;-113.068718
LOCATION:R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center (CC)\, Great Hall
SUMMARY:Kurt Graham - Director of the Adams Presidential Center
URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.suu.edu/event/apex-kurt-graham
CATEGORIES:Lectures
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