Retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis to Headline Series of Global Security Discussions During 2024 Churchill Fellows Weekend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fulton, Mo. – Feb. 21, 2024: America’s National Churchill Museum (ANCM) at Westminster College is pleased to announce that retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis will deliver the 37th Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in the College’s Historic Gymnasium. Stavridis is highly regarded worldwide as the former 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, as the chief international diplomacy and national security analyst for NBC News, and for his column with Bloomberg Opinion, among other high-profile career achievements.

Members of the media and students, faculty, and staff of Westminster may attend at no cost but must register at 573-592-5369 or Museum@ChurchillMemorial.org. For the public, tickets to the lecture include a luncheon prior to the lecture and are available for purchase on the Museum’s website.

The 2024 Churchill Fellows Weekend, March 22-23

Stavridis’ much-anticipated lecture headlines a distinguished list of political experts, historians, authors and other notables to deliver lectures or lead discussions during Churchill Fellows Weekend, March 22-23, 2024, at the College. The weekend is also part of Churchill 2024, a global commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birth, which will culminate in worldwide activities on Nov. 30, 2024.

This year, Churchill Fellows Weekend formally commemorates the 78^th anniversary of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, delivered at Westminster on March 5, 1946, ushering in a Cold War by Western Allies against the former Soviet Union.

Parallels between the Cold War era and today are anticipated to be the focus of all lectures and panel discussions throughout the weekend, with particular emphasis on international security concerns.

Through his stern warning about Soviet aggression and the danger of tyranny, which helped wage and win the Cold War, Churchill created a blueprint for national and international security, helping form the foundations of U.S. national security policies, institutions and diplomatic norms.

Stavridis’ lecture is anticipated to examine the current state of freedom and democracy in the United States in an age when communication is instantaneous, diffused and received with diminished discernment. Meanwhile, disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, terrorism and armed conflict in Ukraine and Gaza pose new and grave threats throughout the world.

About Admiral James Stavridis

The longest-serving combatant commander in recent U.S. history, Stavridis is a retired four-star officer who attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and spent 37 years in the Navy.

In addition to serving as Allied Commander of NATO, Stavridis’ highly decorated Naval career included supervising the U.S. Department of Defense’s Southern Command in Miami; serving as senior military assistant to both the secretary of the Navy and secretary of defense; leading Deep Blue, the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, after the 9/11 attacks; and commanding a destroyer squadron and carrier strike group, both in combat.

Stavridis served for five years as dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, where he earned his Ph.D. Today, in addition to his work with NBC and Bloomberg, he serves as the vice chair of Global Affairs for The Carlyle Group and chair of the board of trustees for the Rockefeller Foundation. Stavridis is the author of numerous books and hundreds of articles in leading journals.

Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of America’s National Churchill Museum, said that the Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture was designed for the public to learn from global figures such as Stavridis.

“Since his historic visit to Westminster College, notable leaders have followed Winston Churchill to our campus to speak about global security,” Riley explained. “With today’s difficulties and dangers, nationally and internationally, there are few more qualified to address our challenges than Admiral James Stavridis.”

2024 Churchill Fellows Weekend Speakers Schedule*

Friday, March 22

3:15 p.m. in ANCM’s Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury

• Panel Discussion: “The Cold War: From 1946 to Today (and Tomorrow?)” with Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of America’s National Churchill Museum; Dr. Tobias Gibson, the John Langton Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science; and Dr. Mark Boulton, Chair of Westminster’s History Department and a member of the Royal Historical Society

Saturday, March 23

9a.m.-10:15 a.m. in ANCM’s Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury

• Roddy MacKenzie, Author: Bomber Command: Churchill’s Greatest Triumph
• Gerard Magliocca, Samuel L. Rosen Professor of Law at Indiana University Robert McKinney School of Law: “Winston Churchill on the American Constitution”
• Catherine Grace Katz, Author of Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War: “The Legacy of Yalta Today”

10:30 a.m.-10: 45 a.m. in ANCM’s Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury

• Justin Reash, Executive Director of the International Churchill Society: “Churchill 2024: 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Sir Winston Churchill”

11:00 am- 12 p.m. in ANCM’s Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury

• Baxter Brown Watson 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” with R. Crosby Kemper III, Roger Porter, and Stephen Poss.

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in the Historic Gymnasium

• U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.): The Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture

*For additional information, please visit the website of America’s National Churchill Museum or call 573-592-5369.

ABOUT WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: Founded in 1851 and home of Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, Westminster College is ranked prestigiously by The Princeton Review as one of the “Best 150 colleges in the Midwest” for 2024. New graduates experience a more than 90% placement rate within six months of graduation, while Westminster alumni are in the top 16% nationwide for graduate earnings. The only National Liberal Arts college in Missouri, Westminster has long been recognized for its focus on educating and inspiring students to make an impact on the world around them. Find out more about Westminster College by visiting our website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Sarah Backer at 573-220-9038 or Sarah.Backer@WCMO.edu.