THE KINKAID SCHOOL
A R O U N D
C A M P U S
The Moss Speaker Series with Jon Meacham
J
on Meacham, presidential historian, a frequent national political commentator, the eulogist for President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush and a best-selling Pulitzer Prize-winning author spoke to the Kinkaid community on his #1 New York Times bestseller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels on March 4 and 5. Wednesday night over 600 tickets were reserved by parents, alumni, grandparents and former parents in the Brown Auditorium for his evening talk, and on March 5, Upper School students heard Mr. Meacham in an assembly. A select group of students and faculty in the history department also joined Mr. Meacham for lunch and conversation in the Anderson Room. In addition to his Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, Meacham has written many books including biographies of George Bush and Thomas Jefferson. His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope will be
released this Fall. After his visit to Kinkaid, Jon Meacham released a podcast Hope through History which explores five historic trying times in the United States and the impact that those moments had on American history. Mr. Meacham is the tenth speaker to visit Kinkaid as a part of the Moss Speaker Series. The Series is named after Barry Moss, a beloved former teacher, debate coach, Upper School principal and Dean of Faculty, who was a prominent part of life at Kinkaid for over 40 years until his death in 2005. The focus of the Series is Civil Discourse in a Democracy, a topic that includes a number of the skills and values so important to Mr. Moss as a teacher: clear and convincing written expression, public speaking and debate, the development of analytical skills, service to others, and the commitment to excellence. The Series has featured a broad range of speakers, including Wes Moore, Larry Temkin, Douglas Brinkley, Dr. David Finegold '81 and Clark Kent Ervin ’77.
Former Moss Speakers 2020 Jon Meacham, Presidential historian, Pulitzer Prize winning author, professor 2017 Mike Feinberg, Co-Founder of KIPP Foundation 2015 Wes Moore, youth advocate, army combat veteran and best selling author of The Other Wes Moore 2014 Larry Temkin, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University 2013 Douglas Brinkley, American author, professor of history at Rice University 2011
J. Pittman McGehee, D.D., Diplomate Jungian analyst and the Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Psychology and Spirituality
2010 Clark Kent Ervin, ‘77, Director of The Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Program 2008 Dick Brass, inventor and technology futurist 2007 Edward Hirsch, author of The New York Times best seller How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry 2006 David Finegold, Ph.D., ‘81, Dean of Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations
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