Panel to Examine Presidential Leadership
Westmont professors Tom Knecht and Rachel Winslow explore presidential leadership in a free, public lecture on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 5:30 p.m. at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara Street. No tickets are required; the limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please call (805) 565-6051.
The lecture, “American Presidents and the Bully Pulpit,” anticipates the Westmont President’s Breakfast March 6 with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who will speak about “Leadership Lessons from American Presidents” on March 6 at 7 a.m. in Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. Tickets to the breakfast, which cost $125 each, can be purchased online at westmont.edu/presbreakfast.
Knecht and Winslow will examine why U.S. presidents captivate and inspire us and why are we so quick to praise and excoriate them. The panel, moderated by Provost Mark Sargent, will consider Goodwin’s insights on presidential leadership and share their own research amid experiences.
Knecht, who teaches political science at Westmont, has written a book, “Paying Attention to Foreign Affairs: How Public Opinion Affects Presidential Decision Making.” He graduated from Stanford and earned a master’s degree and doctorate at UC Santa Barbara. He taught at the University of Denver from 2004-2009 before coming to Westmont. He earned the Bruce and Adeline Bare Teacher of the Year Award at Westmont in 2012.
Winslow, director of Westmont’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship, is a 20th century U.S. historian whose research and teaching interests include race, family, gender, childhood, and social policy, especially in transnational and interdisciplinary contexts. She graduated from the University of Rochester, earned a master’s degree from California State University, Sacramento, and a doctorate at UCSB.
The Westmont Foundation sponsors Westmont Downtown: Conversations about Things that Matter and the President’s Breakfast to reach out and engage the larger Santa Barbara and Montecito communities.