- Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
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The Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs is a conservative academic center at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, dedicated by Ronald Reagan on May 9, 1983.
It is named for the late Congressman John M. Ashbrook, an Ohio Republican best known for having run a largely symbolic campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 1972, against the incumbent Richard Nixon, to protest what some saw as Nixon's failure to live up to conservative principles such as constitutionally limited government, reducing federal spending, and uncompromising anti-communism. The Center was founded to honor him following his death in 1982 while campaigning for the U.S. Senate against Howard Metzenbaum.
One emphasis of the Center is on promoting the study of American history, government, politics, and constitutional interpretation for young people, teachers, and academic scholars.
In pursuit of this goal, The Ashbrook Center established an Ashbrook Scholars program, which provides scholarships to students at Ashland University who are interested in pursuing a classical liberal arts curriculum. Students who are Ashbrook scholars experience academic seminars where they interact with noted figures in the conservative movement, e.g. Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, among others.
The Center's first Director was F. Clifton White, a well-known Republican political strategist and a key member of the Draft Goldwater movement in 1964. White was forced to step down from the position in 1992 for health reasons and was replaced by local businessman Charles E. Parton. Parton was also forced to leave the post for health reasons in 1997. His successor, Peter W. Schramm, a professor of political science at Ashland University and a former member of the Reagan administration, has served as Executive Director since that time and has been central to the Center's expansion from being primarily a scholarship program and lecture series to its many programs that now include a Masters program in American History and Government and numerous academic seminars annually for middle and high school teachers.
Contents
No Left Turns blog
The center publishes a blog entitled No Left Turns. The site is administrated by Dr. Peter W. Schramm, Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center, who also provides regular commentary.[1] The blog's name is borrowed from the slogan of John Ashbrook's 1972 Presidential Primary bid against Richard Nixon, which championed conservative principles such as limited government, reduced federal spending and anti-communism.[2]
In accordance with its collegiate and political roots, No Left Turns provides daily commentary from a conservative and academic perspective. While each writer lends a specific areas of expertise to the blog, the principles of the American founding remain at the core of its mission to refine and enlarge the sphere of sound political thinking.
No Left Turns, an internet-based resource within the conservative movement, is cited by a wide range of nationally recognized conservative groups. For example, Power Line (crowned Time's Blog of the Year) lists No Left Turns among its short-list of favorite blogs[3], National Review Online regularly provides cross-links with the site[4], and Family Research Council routinely features articles from No Left Turns in its monthly Social Conservative Review.[5][6][7][8]
Student publications
Res Publica Each semester, the Ashbrook Scholars may submit essays for consideration for the Taylor Excellence in Writing Award. The selection criteria for the Taylor Award are quality of thought, logic of argument, felicity of style, and mastery of grammar and diction. The authors of the selected essays each receive the Taylor Excellence in Writing Award with its cash award of $100–$400 for each essay. Each summer, the winning essays from the previous fall and spring semesters are published in Res Publica.
Statesmanship Theses All graduating Ashbrook Scholars are required to write a Statesmanship Thesis during their final year as a Scholar. The best of these theses are given the Charles Parton Award, named in honor of the former director of the Ashbrook Center who inspired the creation of the Statesmanship Thesis program.
Faculty Publications
References
- ^ Ashland University Faculty Biography.
- ^ 'What's in a Name?', The Ashbrook Center's No Left Turns.
- ^ Power Line.
- ^ The Corner, National Review Online.
- ^ 'Social Conservative Review', April 2010, Family Research Council.
- ^ 'Social Conservative Review', December 2010, Family Research Council.
- ^ 'Social Conservative Review', January 2011, Family Research Council.
- ^ 'Social Conservative Review', February 2011, Family Research Council.
External links
- Official site
- TeachingAmericanHistory.org, an Ashbrook Center resource for history teachers
- Master of American History and Government, a summer Masters program for history and government teachers administered by the Ashbrook Center
- NoLeftTurns: The Ashbrook Center Blog
- No Left Turns
Categories:- Ashland University
- Political organizations in the United States
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