William Leuchtenburg, past-president of the American Historical Association and professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will offer his views on the 2004 presidential race at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 15 in Whitley Auditorium. Details...
Leuchtenburg’s presentation, part of the James P. Elder Lecture series, will concentrate on contemporary issues surrounding the race. He will also give the contest historical perspective by reflecting on sectional, class, ethnic and religious conflicts that began generations ago.
Winner of both the Bancroft and Parkman prizes, Leuchtenburg is also past-president of the Organization of American Historians. Among his acclaimed books are “Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940;” “The Perils of Prosperity;” “In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Bill Clinton;” “The FDR Years;” and “The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt.”
In 2001, Leuchtenburg was a panelist for a Winter Term forum at Elon about the first 100 days of George W. Bush’s presidency.
Sponsored by the Liberal Arts Forum, Leuchtenburg’s lecture is free and open to the public.
This lecture series honors James P. Elder, a distinguished nephew as well as son of Elon. His uncle, the late W. Clifton Elder, was a 1925 graduate of Elon who faithfully served his alma mater as a trustee for many years. James P. Elder is a 1960 graduate of Elon and later served 10 years as a member of the history faculty from 1963 to 1973. Jim shared with his uncle the honor of Alumnus of the Year. Mr. W. C. Elder was the award’s first recipient in 1941. In 1983, ten years after Jim left Elon’s faculty, he was honored with the same award.
As a student and later as a faculty mentor, Jim founded and led Elon’s Liberal Arts Forum that brought more than 150 distinguished lecturers to campus between 1956 and 1973. He also founded and directed for six years Elon’s Study Abroad Program.
Jim left his tenured professorship at Elon to pursue a career with the Folger Shakespeare Library and private consultancy. However, his professional loyalties have remained with Elon. He has provided important advice and counsel to the university’s presidents and senior staff during the past two decades.