The American Journalism, Yesterday & Today Center for Constructive Alternatives seminar had a last-minute change last week when snowstorm Juno hit New York City, canceling deputy editorial page editor for The Wall Street Journal Bret Stephens’s flight to Michigan.
The office contacted several familiar journalists, but none were available, Bell said. A Q&A between radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, who had spoken the night prior, and President Larry Arnn filled the Tuesday 4 p.m. slot. Senior Fellow for Manhattan Institute’s Center for State and Local Leadership Fred Siegel moved to 8 p.m.
“Luckily, Mr. Hewitt is doing his show from here, and he was staying a day later,” Bell said. “It was a natural fit since he does the Hillsdale Dialogues.”
Currently, the CCA Office is finishing selecting next year’s four series topics and each lecture’s theme, according to Director of Programs for External Affairs Matt Bell.
“We plan far ahead in terms of the topic and speakers,” Bell said. “Everything else, we start planning the day after — maintenance, athletics department, Bon Appétit. The day after CCA III is done we start looking at CCA IV.”
With plans made so far in advance, it’s difficult to find a replacement within a day, as in the case with Stephens.
“In the past, we move a speaker, have a faculty member fill in,” Bell said. “We’ve moved the faculty roundtable and ended a day early. There’s a range of options.”
Speakers are typically matched to specific subtopics for the CCA.
“We don’t search for a person to build a CCA around,” Bell said. “We search for experts who are natural fits. Like, ‘Why do Conservatives Dominate Talk Radio?’ Hewitt was a great fit.”
Suggestions are made by faculty and students for CCA topics, according to Associate Vice President for External Affairs Tim Caspar. Topics are often inspired by current events. The 100th anniversary of World War I led to CCA I, according to Bell.
Some CCAs are tradition. The annual Ludwig von Mises series discusses free market economics, and the film CCA IV started in 2001, Caspar said.
A core curriculum requirement, CCAs further the college’s mission and provide a unique learning opportunity.
“To advance the education of students is to supplement the excellent education they’re getting with the voices of various disciplines,” Caspar said.
As dean of faculty, Professor of Chemistry Mark Nussbaum leads the faculty roundtable discussions. He said he values representation from the three academic divisions: the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
“We get at least one person who is an expert in the field,” Nussbaum said. “For the World War I CCA, we had Tom Conner, an expert in world wars. Having people not experts in the field, but who want to learn more coming and serving at the roundtable, it’s encouraging the students to be lifelong learners.”
In addition, CCAs benefit faculty and campus community.
“The best part was meeting professors I would not ordinarily talk to,” CCA II roundtable panelist Assistant Professor of Politics Kevin Slack said.
In discussing future CCAs, many want a larger variety in lecturers.
“We all thought that particular CCA could have been handled differently,” Slack said on the professors’ responses in the CCA II roundtable.
Nevertheless, students and faculty, like Nussbaum, recognize the college has a reputation to uphold.
“They could be better in the sense all speakers are from conservative viewpoints,” Nussbaum said. “It is an outreach to donors and visitors. They might be disappointed to hear from a guest who has a different viewpoint from what they expected. In many cases we do have people from a variety of perspectives, and let’s hope we continue that even more.”
