Christian Culture Lecture presents ‘America’s Historian-in-Chief,’ Doris Kearns Goodwin

August 29, 2016 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — The Saint Mary’s College Department of Humanistic Studies is proud to announce that world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin will deliver this year’s Christian Culture Lecture. Goodwin, who has been called “America’s historian-in-chief,” will present “Leadership Lessons from the White House: Doris Kearns Goodwin on the American Presidents” on Tuesday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m. in O’Laughlin Auditorium with a book signing and reception to follow. (Admission is free, with a ticket. Contact the Moreau Center box office at (574) 284-4626 or click here for more information.)

As the country’s preeminent presidential historian, Goodwin will share cherished stories, intimate insights, and in-depth analysis of the US presidency, which she has studied for more than four decades. She will also suggest how Christianity has affected the presidency and influenced governance.

Drawing from her award-winning and bestselling biographies of Lyndon Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Franklin Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, Goodwin brings the past alive, delivering an insider’s look at the captivating stories that illuminate the inner complexities of our most fascinating leaders. 

“We are thrilled and honored to welcome Doris Kearns Goodwin to Saint Mary’s,” Professor of Humanistic Studies John Shinners said. “It’s especially exciting to have her here to share her insights just a month before the upcoming historic national election.”

Goodwin was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. She worked with Steven Spielberg on the film Lincoln, based in part on her award-winning Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.  She is well known for her appearances and commentary on television, where she is seen frequently on NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN, The Charlie Rose Show and Meet the Press. Other appearances include The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and many more. Goodwin has served as a consultant and has been interviewed extensively for PBS and the History Channel's documentaries on LBJ, the Kennedy family, Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham and Mary Lincoln and Ken Burns' The History of Baseball and The Civil War.

Goodwin earned a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, where she taught Government, including a course on the American Presidency. She served as an assistant to President Lyndon Johnson in his last year in the White House, and later assisted President Johnson in the preparation of his memoirs. Goodwin is the winner of the Charles Frankel Prize, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sarah Josepha Hale medal and the Lincoln Prize.

Presented by the Department of Humanistic Studies. The Christian Culture Lecture honors the late Professor Bruno Schlesinger and is made possible by the generosity of Dr. Susan Fitzgerald Rice ’61 and Dr. Donald B. Rice.

About Saint Mary's College: Celebrating over 175 years of empowering women to make a difference in the world, Saint Mary’s College is recognized as a pioneer and continued force in the education of women. A Catholic, liberal arts institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate academic programs and also offers co-educational master’s degrees.