GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Three distinct events in April highlighting a British prime minister, an American president and a senator will take place in Grand Rapids. The events commemorating Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan and Gerald R. Ford's mentor, Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, include a museum exhibit, a lecture, and a statue dedication.
"Three insightful programs will give people a better understanding of how the United States left isolationism in the 1940s and became a world leader in the 20th century," said Gleaves Whitney, the director of Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies.
Churchill and the Great Republic
5:30 p.m.
Gerald R. Ford Museum
Librarian of Congress James Billington and Congressman Vernon Ehlers will speak about Churchill and the Great Republic -- an exhibit by the Library of Congress.
There will also be an opportunity to see the exhibit, which will be hosted at the Gerald R. Ford Museum from April 9 to June 5, 2005.
The Library of Congress exhibit draws upon its extensive collections, as well as those of the Churchill Archives Centre of Cambridge, England, to tell the story of one of the 20th century's most influential leaders. Using original letters, documents, prints, and artifacts, this remarkable exhibit examines the life and career of an extraordinary man. The exhibition emphasizes Churchill's lifelong links with the United States - the nation he called "the great Republic." The Gerald R. Ford Museum is one of only three venues in the United States to host this traveling exhibition.
Kiron Skinner, co-editor of Reagan's Path to Victory
8:00 p.m.
Gerald R. Ford Museum
Dr. Kiron Skinner is an assistant professor of political science at Carnegie Mellon University and a Hoover Institute research fellow. Skinner, who earned a Ph.D. from Harvard, serves on the Defense Policy Board of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. She has co-edited several books on President Reagan and specializes in American foreign policy and security.
Seating for the lecture is limited. Call Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at 616-331-2770 to reserve a seat.
Statue Dedication: Sen. Arthur Vandenberg
2:00 p.m. unveiling
Pearl Street and Monroe Avenue, Grand Rapids
Refreshments following at the Ford Museum
Grand Rapids native Arthur Vandenberg worked for 22 years as editor and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald and was then appointed to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat. He held that seat until he died in 1951. A staunch isolationist in the 1930s, he later championed the United Nations.
Gillian Martin Sorensen
60 Years Later: Arthur Vandenberg and the Birth of the United Nations
Gerald R. Ford Museum Auditorium
Gillian Martin Sorensen is a Grand Rapids native and senior adviser at the United Nations Foundation. She is a national advocate for the United Nations and U.S.-U.N. relations. She served as assistant secretary-general for external relations to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and special adviser for public policy to former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
For more information on all three events visit www.allpresidents.org.
