Noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose recent book on Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet inspired the critically acclaimed movie “Lincoln,” will be the featured speaker at the 20th annual R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues at Missouri Western State University at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22 in the M.O. Looney Complex arena. The Convocation is free and open to the public. Goodwin’s Convocation speech is titled “Team of Rivals: The Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln.”
“We’re very excited to have such an illustrious speaker for the 20th R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “Doris Kearns Goodwin is a gifted storyteller who vividly brings the past to life, and I know our students, faculty, staff and the community will be delighted by her presentation.”
In addition to the Convocation, Goodwin will be the guest of honor at the annual Convocation Luncheon at noon Oct. 22 in the Fulkerson Center. Ticket and sponsorship information for the Luncheon will be announced at a later date. Goodwin’s appearance is sponsored by the Missouri Western State University Foundation.
Goodwin is the author of several books and has written for leading national publications. She appears regularly on network television programs and was an on-air consultant for PBS documentaries on Lyndon B. Johnson, the Kennedy family and Franklin Roosevelt as well as Ken Burns’ “The History of Baseball.” She was the first female journalist to enter the Red Sox locker room.
Goodwin was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She received her bachelor’s degree from Colby College and her doctorate in government from Harvard University. After teaching government at Harvard, Goodwin served as an assistant to Lyndon Johnson in his last year in the White House. She later assisted Johnson in the preparation of his memoirs.
In 1976, Goodwin authored “Lyndon Johnson & The American Dream,” which became a New York Times bestseller. She followed up in 1987 with the political biography, “The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys,” which stayed on the bestseller list for five months and was later made into a six-hour ABC miniseries. Her next book, “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The American Home Front During World War II,” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1995.
Her most recent work, a monumental history of Abraham Lincoln titled “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” published in 2005, reached No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. “Team of Rivals” won the 2006 Lincoln Prize for an outstanding work about the president and/or the Civil War, the New York Historical Society Book Prize, the Richard Nelson Current award and the New York State Archives History Makers Award. A feature film based on “Team of Rivals,” directed by Steven Spielberg, premiered last November. “Lincoln” opened to rave reviews and received seven Golden Globe and 12 Oscar nominations.
Goodwin is currently at work on a new book about the Progressive Era, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft and the golden age of journalism.
Missouri Western inaugurated the R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues program in 1993. The program was started as part of an overall commitment to offer enriching experiences to students while bringing together the college and community. The Convocation is held in honor of R. Dan Boulware, former president of the Board of Regents. Previous Convocation speakers include: Bill Bradley, James Carville & Mary Matalin, Sam Donaldson, Steve Forbes, Thomas Friedman, David Gergen, Newt Gingrich, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jeane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Linenger, David McCullough, Joseph Nye, T. Boone Pickens, Colin Powell, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Daniel Schorr, Patricia Schroeder, J. C. Watts and Bob Woodward.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.