2009 Program Description (June 15–June 27, 2009)

Theme

The theme, American Statesmanship: Founding Principles, Historical Examples, for this year's Summer Institute examines historical periods ranging from colonial America through the Founding and Civil War eras to contemporary politics with a particular focus on how some of America’s greatest leaders succeeded in meeting the specific challenges of their day by applying the wisdom and insights of the Founding generation in creative and innovative ways.

Institute Teaching Faculty

The Summer Institute Faculty will consist of distinguished scholars who are highly committed to the reform of higher education and who are among the most effective, thoughtful, and committed scholars in our nation.

In addition to the Institute Faculty, we will invite professors at the assistant and associate levels, plus a small number of exceptional, advanced graduate students. The junior faculty and graduate students will be selected for the quality of their work, their commitment to reform, and their dedication to their students. Graduate students will be those with responsibility for classroom instruction and with influence on syllabi in the courses to which they contribute.

Seminars

The seminars will be facilitated by Institute Faculty. The seminars will provide an opportunity for Institute Faculty to model the techniques of leading successful seminars and lively discussions of the foundational principles of American political thought.

Workshops

The afternoon workshops will principally focus on matters pertaining to curricular and professional development. Specific sessions will be geared towards defining a liberal arts education, developing and implementing new courses, and teaching the Millennial generation. They will provide opportunities for discussion of the practical business of successful course design and implementation in both the context of individual institutions and the intellectual context of reflection on the central foundational concepts of American political thought.

Additional workshops will focus on practical career matters, including the following topics: publishing in peer-reviewed journals and with academic presses, applying for research grants, and navigating through an academic career.

Incentive grants will be available for full participation in the Institute, including grants for participants who design and implement new courses on their campuses or who achieve similar results, either successfully revising the content of existing curricula or courses using concepts and materials from the Summer Institute's program.

Lectures

Institute Faculty and other distinguished scholars, writers, and thinkers will deliver evening addresses to Institute participants.

Beyond these more formal elements of the Institute, the program is structured to maximize opportunities for informal interaction among participants and Institute Faculty.