Programs & Opportunities
2025-2026: Statesmanship as Stewardship
What does it mean to be a “Statesman”? How can statesmanship serve as an appropriate means of stewardship?
2025 Upcoming Events
Tuesdays at 7pm
Reading Group
Are you eager to explore questions of faith, pluralism, and charitable public engagement? Our undergraduate Reading Group meets Tuesdays at 7pm in the Library. Join us for student-led conversations on readings that encourage deeper reflections and understanding of what it means to live a faithful life within a broader community. Contact crc@leeuniversity.edu for more information!
This group connects students to conferences and scholarship opportunities both on and off of campus, as well as providing free books and light refreshments.
September 1
Discourse Dinner
We will launch the the new semester with a common meal and conversation. A small diverse group of students, faculty, and members of the community will gather at a professor’s home to chat about our year’s theme of “Statesman as Stewardship.”
September 12
Constitution Day Quiz Bowl & Lecture
Teams of high school students from across the state will compete at Lee University on questions about the American Founding and Constitution. Lee undergraduates are involved in all aspects of the event, including serving as mentors for participating high school students. To register to compete please contact Dr. Ana Shippey at ashippey@leeuniversity.edu. For Lee students looking to volunteer for service hours, please contact crc@leeuniversity.edu.
October 10-11
Intercollegiate Symposium
“Statesmanship & Tyranny”
Our annual symposium is on Statesmanship & Tyranny. Particularly in light of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we will explore the fine line between these concepts and how we can encourage appropriate statesmanship while avoiding the dangers of tyranny (especially in American constitutional democracy). To participate, please contact crc@leeuniversity.edu.
2024-25 Past Events
May 27
Summer Seminar
“Grit & American Character”
Through a mixed cohort of Lee undergraduates and regional high-school students, we used the lens of American Fiction to consider the formal and informal institutions that shape our societal mores and vision of American Identity. This summer we read and discussed the American novel, True Grit.
June 2-4
Seminar
“Founding Civics Institute”
Founding Civics Institute for Tennessee educators bringing together 25 regional middle and high school teachers. We discussed primary sources from the American Founding with a view to their continued relevance.
February 28
Guest Lecture
“American Entrepreneurialism”
Guest lecture by Taylor Jones, co-founder and CEO of Whiteboard, on the relationship between American Entrepreneurialism and American Identity. Taylor explored how America’s entrepreneurial spirit can connect to the common good.
January 23
Discourse Dinner
In the spirit of our mission, we celebrated the new semester with a common meal and conversation. A small diverse group of students, faculty, and members of the community gathered at a professor’s home to chat about our year’s theme of “American Identity.”
October 18-19
Intercollegiate Symposium
“American Identity”
Our annual symposium considered how race informs American citizenship. The symposium will consist of several socratic-style discussion seminars, as well as a keynote lecture by Dr. Nicholas Buccola, the Elizabeth and Morris Glicksman Chair in Political Science at Linfield College.
