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The Hauenstein Center, a rising authority in presidential studies, illuminates the American presidency to raise civic literacy, learned discourse, and a new generation of leaders. Founded in 2001 by retired U.S. Army colonel Ralph Hauenstein and Grand Valley State University, the Hauenstein Center challenges citizens and public servants to “Know your past, shape our future.”

World-Class Speakers

The Ralph W. Hauenstein Series, the Hauenstein Center’s annual schedule of public lectures, conferences, and debates offered throughout the academic year, brings public servants, leading scholars, and award-winning writers to Grand Rapids to discuss U.S. presidents and their impact on domestic and world affairs. The series explores important books, themes in American history, political traditions, current affairs, and leadership. Since 2003, the Hauenstein Center has offered more than 100 public programs, including two national conferences covered by C-SPAN, one debate web cast live to more than 3,500 viewers in eighteen countries, and another watched on YouTube by more than 40 thousand people on six continents.

World-Class Website

The Hauenstein Center’s website, www.allpresidents.org, is the highest rated presidential studies site in the world according to Google. It is updated each weekday with the most incisive news and commentary on the current president, former presidents, and the campaign cycle. Each week new features are posted that focus on contemporary debates and historic events.

The website has attracted more than 8 million hits and is home to “Ask Gleaves” – director Gleaves Whitney’s presidential Q & A – the annual “Tournament of the Presidents,” video classrooms, and an extensive collection of presidential resources. Through video coverage, the site carries the benefits of the Center’s “off-line” initiatives to people all over the world.

The Hauenstein Center networks online with students, professionals, and friends of the center. Look for the Hauenstein.. Center in the blogosphere and on Wikipedia, Knol, iTunes, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, and Facebook. The center’s internet presence and initiatives have earned recognition in the New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Sunday Globe & Mail, Chronicle of Higher Education, and National Review, as well as on PBS and C-SPAN.

World-Class Library

The Hauenstein Center’s J. Randall Bergers Presidential Studies Collection is a world-class resource – a one-stop shop for books written by American presidents. Held at Grand Valley’s Seidman House, the Bergers Collection consists of more than 500 original works by presidents – mostly first editions and many autographed by the author. The collection has been independently appraised by the Library of Congress as a “uniquely valuable resource.” In combination with the Harvey Lemmen Abraham Lincoln Collection and other historical holdings, the Bergers Collection makes Grand Valley a nationally significant presidential research center.

The Hauenstein Center also produces its own books, including two-volumes on religion and the presidency, a guide to farewell addresses of the presidents, and a forthcoming scholarly assessment of the George W. Bush presidency.

World-Class Students

Effective, virtuous leadership benefits from an academic foundation and practical guidance. The Hauenstein Center’s Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy, a one-year leadership development program for aspiring public servants, combines insight from scholars with training from professionals. Leadership fellows gather monthly over lunch to meet with national, state, and local leaders and to discuss leadership principles. A syllabus of readings – mining the best leadership studies and presidential biographies – enriches discussion and advances understanding.

Cook Leadership Fellows encounter a rich array of opportunities. In the past three years, they have been face-to-face with three U.S. presidents, several presidential candidates, one vice president, three secretaries of state, senators and members of Congress, four state governors, and multiple Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists.

VISIT US AT: ALLPRESIDENTS.ORG

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Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit and author of three New York Times bestselling books, talks about the ten foreign policy questions that John McCain and Barack Obama must answer.

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