Robert W. Merry, Elizabeth C’de Baca Eastman and John C. Eastman (left to right).
What's New?
Benson Center names 2020-21 visiting scholars
Law professor John C. Eastman and journalist Robert W. Merry have been named the 2020-21 Visiting Scholars in Conservative Thought and Policy at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Additionally, political scientist Elizabeth C’de Baca Eastman has been named senior scholar in residence at the Bruce D. Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization, which includes the Conservative Thought and Policy Program.
John C. Eastman, the Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service at Chapman University; and Merry, who’s served as editor of The American Conservative and The National Interest, are scheduled to teach two courses per semester in fall 2020 and spring 2021.
They will be encouraged to foster discussion by hosting public events in the campus community and perhaps around the state.
For more information about the 2020-21 Benson Center visiting scholars, visit the Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine.
Benson Center announces 2020-21 theme: Community or Disunity?
The Benson Center’s 2020-21 theme, posed both as disjunction and as a question, hints that the future of our country—our national community—may yet veer in vastly different and hereto unknowable directions. In this presidential election year, a great deal remains open.
What is community? How (and can) community be built? What causes a community to fall apart? Is it possible for communities—local, national, international and even virtual communities—to maintain cohesion and avoid disunity? How can we as individuals think about our various connections —social, political, geographical, virtual—in ways that facilitate the creation of a common (and communal) future? What is the role of the university, the individual, the society in making that happen? In a contemporary culture overwhelmed by disintegration, and in which the major components of our society—industry, education, religion, government—often work at cross-purposes, the future is uncertain. Over the course of the 2020-21 academic year, the Benson Center will be exploring these and other questions.
Steamboat Institute's Campus Liberty Tour features Benson Center scholars April 3; stops at CU Boulder April 14
Can Modern Americans Still Be Civic Friends? features two Benson Center scholars: Colleen Sheehan, 2019-20 Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought & Policy and John Doody, 2019-20 Senior Scholar in Residence. Free registration available beginning March 1 at the Steamboat Institute's website.
- Friday, April 3, 5:30-7 p.m., Chief Theatre, 813 Lincoln Ave., Steamboat Springs
Will a Wealth Tax and Higher Income Tax Rates Increase Prosperity and Opportunity in America? features Arthur B. Laffer, inventor of the “Laffer Curve” and economic advisor to President Reagan, and Leslie Marshall, Democratic strategist, Nationally Syndicated Talk Radio Host and Fox News Contributor; moderated by Saagar Enjeti, Chief Washington Correspondent for The Hill and Tony Blankley Fellow with the Steamboat Institute. Free registration available at Eventbrite. Presented in collaboration with the Bruce D. Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization.
- Tuesday, April 14, 6-7:30 p.m., University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom, 1669 Euclid Ave., Boulder
Team teaching grants
The Benson Center has received funding to support team teaching across the College of Arts and Sciences. In collaboration with the College, we’re seeking proposals for academic year 2020-21. They can be within a department, or across departments. Each participating faculty member will receive full credit for the course, and additional funds will be made available to bring in external visitors or otherwise improve the classroom experience. The main restrictions are that: it must be an undergraduate course, with preference for lower-level courses; the course should showcase how faculty who hold contrasting points of view can engage constructively on controversial topics; and the topic should be the subject of reasonably well-known controversy: specialized disputes within a discipline do not qualify. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, as funding permits. There is no deadline. Please see the website for more information.
Student grant applications due March 13, 2020
The Benson Center offers language and internship grants to undergraduate and graduate students, and graduate student fellowships.
Language grants
Add a second language to your résumé or CV through a grant to study one of the many languages connected to the field of western civilization. Many students choose to use these language training grants abroad. These grants are typically awarded for study during the summer and are open to both graduate and undergraduate students.
Internship grants
Students may apply for a grant to subsidize any internship that relates to western civilization, including law, government, public policy and education. Often, students find internships in our nation's capital.
Some students may wish to use the Benson Center internship or language study grants as matching funding for a work-study award. These students must apply for summer work study funding through the CU student employment office (the application is typically released in March) and procure a work-study position/supervisor on campus. Participating students must complete both their summer work study and their internship or language study.
Benson Center internship grants are also available to support students in participating in the CU in D.C. program. For more information, contact CU in D.C.
Harper graduate fellowships
The Harper Graduate Fellowship provides support to CU Boulder graduate students who commit to year-long participation in the Center’s programming, annual theme, and the larger goal of fostering intellectual diversity and dialogue on the campus and in the broader community. The fellowship is worth $4,000 and is made possible through a generous donation by June Harper.
How to apply for student grants
The Benson Center partners with the CU Boulder Scholarship Application service to accept applications through a common platform, available here. Through this platform, students will automatically be matched with scholarships for which they are eligible based on completion of a common application and information from their student profile. After logging into the platform with your Identikey and password, search for "western civilization."
Benson Center Summer Institute applications due March 15
The Benson Center invites scholars holding a PhD (or disciplinary equivalent) who are conducting research on some topic that falls within the scope of the Center’s 2020-21 theme, Community or Disunity?, to apply for a four-week Summer Institute in Boulder, to take place June 29-July 24, 2020. Participants will receive a $5000 honorarium, office space and library privileges. The honorarium is intended to cover all travel and business expenses. Participants are expected to be in residence in Boulder for all four weeks of the Institute, and to participate in the daily life of the program, which will include both collaborative seminars and social activities. Application review will begin March 15. For more information and how to apply, please see the website.
Sabbatical fellowships available
The Benson Center invites applications for sabbatical researchers to serve as Fellows in Residence. Faculty in fields or with sabbatical projects related to the mission of the Center are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to those whose work closely aligns with the Center's academic year 2020-21 Community or Disunity? theme. Sabbatical Fellows will be appointed as Visiting Research Professors, given office space and University of Colorado privileges. Where possible, applicants should make every effort to bring their own funding to remain in residence. If such support is not possible, candidates with part-time support can apply for additional support from the Benson Center to match the home institution’s contribution. Fellowship applications are accepted on a rolling basis. For more information and to apply, please see the website.
