On Nov. 7, two days after the presidential election, one of the country’s foremost presidential historians will present “Lessons in Character and Leadership from Seven American Presidents” at the Poinsett Club in Greenville.
Mark Updegrove, president and chief executive officer of the LBJ Foundation, the presidential historian for ABC News, a former director of the LBJ Presidential Library and the author of five books on the presidency, will sign books starting at 5:30 p.m. and begin his presentation at 6 p.m. The event is sponsored by the American History Book Club and Forum and Furman University.
Updegrove’s speech will draw on meetings and exclusive interviews with seven U.S. presidents to examine lessons in character and leadership: Gerald R. Ford (doing right), Jimmy Carter (doing good), Ronald Reagan (optimism), George H.W. Bush (humility), Bill Clinton (resilience), George W. Bush (compassion) and Barack Obama (grace). Updegrove looks at how each man, overcoming inherent flaws in his nature and setbacks in his administration, drew on the best aspects of his character to contribute to our country – and ultimately to his legacy. The presentation includes photographs and short clips from interviews.
For more information and to purchase tickets ($50), visit www.furman.edu/ahbc, call 864-294-3351 or email [email protected]. Proceeds from ticket sales support the work of two area teachers and a local student through the A.V. and Kate Huff History Scholars awards.
This year’s A.V. and Kate Huff History Scholars student and teacher award winners, whose prizes are supported through proceeds from ticket sales, will also be recognized at the event. The awards are named for A.V. Huff, a former Furman professor, dean and vice president for academic affairs, and his wife Kate Huff, a former elementary school teacher.
The winner of the A.V. Huff History Scholars Award is Furman student Emily Anne Harris ’25, of Hartsville, South Carolina. A history major minoring in Medieval and early modern studies, Harris will continue her work on an exhibit and book for Furman’s bicentennial celebration with Courtney Tollison, Distinguished University Public Historian and Scholar at Furman. After graduation, Harris plans to pursue a graduate degree in historic preservation.
The Kate Huff History Scholars award will go to area teachers to support class history projects or field trips. This year’s recipients are David Bernardy of Greenville, South Carolina, and Ashley Blackwelder ’03 M’05 of Spartanburg, South Carolina.
An elementary teacher at Sterling School in Greenville, Bernardy recently completed Furman’s certification program for elementary education. He will use the grant to partially fund a visit to the Cowpens National Battlefield Park in Cowpens, South Carolina. Students will tour the Cowpens museum, view educational films about the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and walk on a ranger-led trail detailing the important turning points of the battle.
Blackwelder, the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) coordinator for grades K-5 at Fairforest Elementary in Spartanburg, holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in literacy from Furman. Blackwelder will use the grant to fund a year-long “Fairforest Family Tree” project that will include a mural, a “family tree” painting and school-wide international night.
Updegrove’s books include “Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis”; “The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush”; and “Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency.” He is working on a book about lessons in leadership, the topic of his American History Book Club talk.
In 2014, while Updegrove was president of the LBJ Presidential Library, he hosted the Civil Rights Summit with Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.
Written by Furman University.