2004 Conference

The American Presidency: Principled Leadership in a Time of Turbulence

September 7, 2004

Keynote Address by Senator George McGovern

The 2004 Frank Church Conference on “The American Presidency: Principled Leadership” will be held October 6-8, in joint sponsorship with the Idaho Council for History Education and the Boise Public Schools, among others. Speakers, to date, include noted presidential historians Robert Dallek of Boston University; David M. Kennedy of Stanford University; Lizabeth Cohen of Harvard University; and Kevin P. Colleary of Hunter College, City University of New York.

Press Release

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP IN A TIME OF TURBULENCE

Senator George McGovern to Give Keynote Address

Bethine Church, chair of the Frank Church Institute, announced today that George McGovern, a former U.S. senator, ambassador, and presidential nominee, will be the keynote speaker at the 21st annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.

This year’s conference, titled “The American Presidency: Principled Leadership in a Time of Turbulence,” will be held Oct. 6 in the Jordan Ballroom of the BSU Student Union Building. McGovern will speak that evening. The address is free and the public is invited to attend.

“George McGovern continues to have a long and distinguished career in public service,” Church said, “and he brings a lifetime of achievement to this year’s conference. George and Frank were close friends and colleagues in the Senate, and he and his wife, Eleanor, remain my dear friends. We are fortunate to have him agree to speak.”

McGovern served three terms in the U.S. Senate from South Dakota from 1962-1980. Previously, President John F. Kennedy named him as the first director of the Food for Peace Program. In 1972, McGovern was selected as the Democratic Party presidential nominee. After leaving the Senate, he was a visiting professor at numerous universities and served as the president of the Middle East Policy Council. In 1998, President Bill Clinton appointed him as ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization in Rome. In 2001, he was appointed the first U.N. global ambassador on hunger where he continues to serve.

A prolific author, McGovern has lectured at more than 1,000 colleges and universities around the world. He holds a doctorate in American history and government from Northwestern University, and he has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. His most recent book is titled The Essential America: Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition.

This year’s Frank Church Conference is presented in partnership with the Idaho Council for History Education and the Boise Independent School District Conference on the American Presidency, Oct. 7 and 8, at Boise High School.