Presidential historian Jon Meacham will bring context and insight on today’s White House by looking through the lens of past presidencies at a free guest lecture Jan. 23 on UCF’s main campus.
The lecture will draw on the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s history expertise and explore themes ranging from Thomas Jefferson’s pragmatism and John F. Kennedy’s capacity to recover from his own mistakes, to the leadership styles shown by Ronald Reagan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“Jon Meacham is one of America’s most respected voices on history and politics. He is well versed in explaining the context of American history, the character of our leaders and our role in world affairs. UCF is honored to have him visit us as a Mandell Distinguished Lecture Series speaker,” says David Dumke, director of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives, which is supporting the event.
Meacham is co-author of “Impeachment: An American History,” which reveals the complicated motives behind the three impeachments in U.S. history.
Meacham’s latest release, Songs of America, co-written with musician Tim McGraw, was praised as “a glorious celebration of our diversity” by Quincy Jones and an “unusually well-written and moving story” by Ken Burns. He is also co-author of Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the complicated motives behind the three impeachments in U.S. history.
A contributing editor at TIME, Meacham writes for the magazine’s Ideas section. He also pens “The Long View” column in The New York Times Book Review in which he “looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment.” He served as Newsweek‘s managing editor from 1998 to 2006 and editor from 2006 to 2010. The New York Times called him “one of the most influential editors in the news magazine business.”
Meacham is a frequent guest on Morning Joe, Real Time with Bill Maher, The 11th Hour and was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Fox News produced an hour-long special about Meacham’s Destiny and Power in November 2015.
Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Society of American Historians, and chair of the national advisory board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor of history at The University of the South and a visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University. He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.
Meacham’s visit is part of the Lester N. Mandell Endowed Distinguished Lecture Series. The 3 p.m. presentation will be in the Pegasus Ballroom of the UCF Student Union.
