The Eighth Annual University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Dr. Richard Gruetzemacher Constitution Day Lecture Series will be held Wednesday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m. in the UC Auditorium.
It is sponsored by the UTC Center for Reflective Citizenship and The College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies.
The topic will be “Patriot Sage: Why We Need George Washington Today” by Gary L. Gregg, Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville and director of the McConnell Center.
The public is invited and refreshments will be served.
"By almost unanimous consent, George Washington was known as the greatest man of his age," said Dr. Gregg. "He defeated an empire and pulled together a nation. He saved the Republic from a military coup, presided over the Constitutional Convention and became our first president. We might recall the outlines of his great career and a few anecdotes of his accomplishments, but few today remember the core lessons that helped George Washington win a war and bring together a disparate people into one nation. Washington’s life and career offer vital lessons for our own age of challenge and division."
In 2004, the U.S. Congress passed bipartisan legislation authorizing Sept. 17, the date in 1787 that delegates to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution, as an official holiday. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Education authorized that any educational institution receiving federal funds should host educational activities during the week of the Constitution’s birthday.
Past UTC Constitution Day lectures have featured nationally and internationally known scholars and teachers: Josiah Bunting, James Ceaser, Bradley Birzer, Michael Federici, Wilfred McClay, Richard Gamble, and David Bobb. The general public, the UTC community, and educators and students from a variety of schools and colleges in the region are cordially invited to attend.
Gary L. Gregg, Ph.D., holds the Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville and is Director of the McConnell Center. He is the author or editor of 10 books including The Presidential Republic: Executive Representation and Deliberative Democracy, Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition (with Matthew Spalding) and Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College. He has also published two novels for young adults under the series title The Remnant Chronicles: The Sporran and The Iona Conspiracy. He has appeared on numerous national and international television programs, radio programs, and in periodicals including The New York Times. Among his most recent accomplishments was pioneering a new Strategic Broadening Seminar for the United States Army. Each year he serves as Lead Faculty and Director for this innovative thirty-day immersion program for mid-career officers and later career NCOs.
For other information about the event, including reserved seating for groups and individuals, please contact Jeffrey Melnik, edast@utc.edu, 425-2118 or Calli Bianchi, crc@utc.edu, 425-5603.
In 2018, the lecture series title was changed to honor the life of Dr. Richard Gruetzemacher and his love of history and civic education. For further information about the Richard Gruetzemacher Constitution Day Lecture Fund, please visit: https://www.utc.edu/center-reflective-citizenship/rgfund.php.