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Churchill Fellows Weekend 2024
March 22 - March 23
SAVE THE DATE March 22-23 for Churchill Fellows Weekend 2024 when Admiral James Stavridis (USN, Ret.) will deliver the Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture.
In 1946, Winston Churchill created a blueprint for national and international security in his “The Sinews of Peace” or ‘iron curtain’ speech at Westminster College. The foundations of U.S. national security policies and institutions, as well as diplomatic norms, were informed and inspired by Churchill’s words—words that helped to wage and win the Cold War.
But what of today?
In an age when communication is instantaneous, diffused, and received with diminished discernment, how secure is the safety and welcome of those who value freedom and democracy? The stakes are high as disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, terrorism, and armed conflict in Ukraine and Gaza pose new and grave threats.
The Association of Churchill Fellows at Westminster College invites you to join us at America’s National Churchill Musuem in Fulton, Missouri, as Fellows, veterans, and other distinguished experts examine the military, legal, and economic challenges of security in today’s complex world.
REGISTRATIONS OPEN
Friday, March 22
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
- VIP Tours of Museum Collections and Exhibitions including Four Freedoms: Real and Imagined
3:15 pm
- Panel Discussion “The Cold War: From 1946 to Today (and Tomorrow?)”
6:00 pm
- VIP Reception and Dinner Hosted by Association of Churchill Fellows of Westminster College followed by cordials and special exclusive viewing of “Curator’s Choice: Treasures from Museum’s Collection.”
Saturday, March 23
9:00-10:15 am
Morning Session
- Bomber Command: Churchill’s Greatest Triumph
Roddy MacKenzie, author - Winston Churchill on the American Constitution
Gerard Magliocca, Samuel L. Rosen Professor of Law at Indiana University Robert McKinney School of Law - The Legacy of Yalta Today
Catherine Grace Katz, author of Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War
10:30-10: 45 am
- “Churchill 2024: 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Sir Winston Churchill” presented by Justin Reash, Executive Director of International Churchill Society
11:00 am- 12:00 noon
- Roundtable Discussion Moderated by Timothy Riley, Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator “Preserving the Past for Tomorrow: The Nation’s Churchill Museum, its Legacy, and its Future”
12:30-1:30 pm
- Induction of New Churchill Fellows Luncheon*
1:30-2:30 pm
- Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture by Admiral James Stavridis, USN, Ret.*
- Behind-the-Scenes Tours of America’s National Churchill Museum (optional)
*Event will be held in Westminster College’s Historic Gymnasium, where Winston Churchill delivered his “The Sinews of Peace” address on March 5, 1946.
Vice Chair, Global Affairs, The Carlyle Group and Chair of the Board of Trustees, the Rockefeller Foundation
A South Florida native, Jim Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent over thirty five years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied 
Commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and piracy off the coast of Africa. He also commanded US Southern Command in Miami, charged with military operations through Latin America for nearly three years. He was the longest serving Combatant Commander in recent US history.
In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet, the Destroyer USS BARRY, and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational leadership as a Commodore. He holds more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat in the Middle East.
He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. He speaks Spanish and French.
Jim has published nine books on leadership, character, the world’s oceans, command at sea, Latin America, ship handling, and innovation, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. His latest book is 2034: A Novel About the Next World War, which depicts a war with China. It hit #6 on the New York Times bestseller list when it was released in early 2021.
Admiral Stavridis is also the Chair Emeritus of the Board of the US Naval Institute, the professional association of the Nation’s sea services: Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine. He is also Dean Emeritus of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a position he held from 2013-2018.He is a contributing editor for TIME Magazine and Chief International Security Analyst for NBC News.
He is happily married to Laura, and they have two daughters. Jim enjoys competitive squash and tennis (he played on the varsity team at Annapolis), and cycling rather slowly.
The Association of Churchill Fellows is an honorary society recognizing leaders in industry, commerce, statecraft, and in the arts and sciences. It is among the key organizations that support America’s National Churchill Museum, the only museum in North America that commemorates the life and times of former British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and his legacy of leadership.
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