{"id":9933,"date":"2021-05-25T14:49:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T19:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/?p=9933"},"modified":"2021-05-25T14:49:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T19:49:04","slug":"arthur-brooks-announced-as-2021-convocation-on-critical-issues-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/2021\/05\/25\/arthur-brooks-announced-as-2021-convocation-on-critical-issues-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Arthur Brooks announced as 2021 Convocation on Critical Issues speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Arthur Brooks<\/p><\/div>\n

May 25, 2021–Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard professor, bestselling author and columnist for The Atlantic, will be the featured speaker at the 28th annual R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in the M.O. Looney Complex Arena on the campus of Missouri Western State University. The talk by Dr. Brooks, titled \u201cLove Your Enemies: Uniting a Divided America,\u201d will be free and open to the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Brooks will also be the guest of honor and participate in a question-and-answer session during the annual Convocation Luncheon at noon Sept. 30. Ticketing information for the luncheon will be announced at a later date.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYear after year, the R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues has presented excellent, thought-provoking forums, and I\u2019m thrilled that we\u2019re now able to bring back this cherished Missouri Western tradition,\u201d said Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, Missouri Western president. \u201cDr. Brooks joins a long list of distinguished speakers who have informed and inspired our students, faculty, staff and the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“There can be few if any critical issues facing our society today greater or more concerning than the divisiveness, hatred, and political discord we see each day,\u201d said Dan Boulware, former chair of the Missouri Western Board of Regents (now Board of Governors) in whose honor the Convocation is held each year. \u201cWe are in need of coming together for the betterment of everyone. For this reason, I wanted to address the issue at our Convocation. I believe Arthur Brooks\u2019 message will resonate with everyone.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Arthur C. Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the<\/span> Harvard Kennedy School, Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before<\/span> j<\/span>oining the Harvard faculty in July of 2019, he served for ten years as president of the Washington, D.C.-<\/span> based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world\u2019s leading think tanks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Brooks is the author of 11 books, including the national bestsellers \u201cLove Your Enemies\u201d (2019), \u201cThe<\/span> Conservative Heart\u201d (2015), and \u201cThe Road to Freedom\u201d (2012). He is also a columnist for The Atlantic,<\/span> host of the podcast \u201cThe Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks,\u201d and subject of the 2019 documentary<\/span> film \u201cThe Pursuit,\u201d which Variety named as one of the \u201cBest Documentaries on Netflix\u201d in August 2019.<\/span> He gives more than 100 speeches per year around the U.S., Europe, and Asia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Missouri Western inaugurated the R. Dan Boulware Convocation on Critical Issues program in 1993. The program was started as part of an overall commitment to offer enriching experiences to students while bringing together the college and community. This will be the first Convocation on Critical Issues since 2019. Last year\u2019s scheduled event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Previous Convocation speakers include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n