Dear Members of the Gettysburg College Community,
At Gettysburg College, our mission calls on us to foster a new generation of effective leaders and socially responsible citizens. This work matters enormously, particularly in a time when discourse within our nation is faltering and the divisions between us are growing ever wider.
As I have noted on other occasions, I believe our community has a special obligation and capacity to help address today’s climate of polarization. We need only look to the battlefields that surround this campus as evidence as to what can unfold when we as a society allow such issues of importance to go unresolved.
In the spirit of this “unfinished work” before our nation, and before us as Gettysburgians, I have asked our Eisenhower Institute to host a series of lectures and programming this spring devoted to exploring the defining issues of the American experience today. This series will convene members of our own intellectual community, as well as leading experts in the field, to examine these topics of significance for our republic through a non-partisan lens.
I would highly encourage you to attend the first in our series of virtual events, What Lies Ahead? Perspectives on a Polarized America, on Thursday, February 25 at 7 p.m. Susan Eisenhower will host Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg, two keen observers of the American polity, for a discussion about the state of the nation and our path forward in the wake of the 2020 election and the attack on the U.S. Capitol. As part of our effort to help encourage the sort of conversations and understanding that makes change possible, we are opening this session broadly, including to our alumni community and others.
Register for the event and learn more about our speakers at bit.ly/ei-cook-rothenberg.
A special thank you to Susan Eisenhower and the EI for hosting such an essential conversation, and for their tremendous work in spearheading this semester-long series.
I look forward to participating in this dynamic programming. I hope you will consider joining me.
Sincerely,
Bob Iuliano
President