ABILENE – The first in a series of Kansas Town Hall programs focusing on election year issues, “We the People: Civic Education in Kansas,” will be held Tue., March 22, in the Visitors Center of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, Abilene.
The program begins at 7 p.m. with a keynote speech by Kansas Attorney General, Derek Schmidt, who will address the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
“I sometimes reflect on how much we demand of those who wish to become American citizens by their own choice,” Schmidt said. “In many ways, it is more than we demand of those of us fortunate to have been born to citizenship. The nature of citizenship is not always fully understood or appreciated by those to whom it came without effort.”
Schmidt was elected the 44th attorney general of Kansas in 2010 and reelected in 2014. In 2015, he was elected national Vice President for the National Association of Attorneys General.
A panel discussion will follow the keynote address, including four panel members. The panelists will discuss civic education programs, classes and activities in which they are involved. A question and answer session will follow their presentations.
Panel participants include:
Bob Beatty, Professor, Political Science, Washburn University. Beatty is also a
political analyst and consultant with KSNT/KTKA TV.
Nathan McAlister, History teacher, Royal Valley Middle School, Mayetta, Kan. In 2010 McAlister was named Kansas and National History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History.
Pam Sanfilippo, Education Specialist, Eisenhower Presidential Library. Sanfilippo facilitates learning for groups of all ages using the primary sources in the holdings of the Eisenhower archives.
Tom Vontz, Professor and Director, Center for Social Studies Education, Kansas State University. Vontz’s interests include civic education research.
This Kansas Town Hall program is held in partnership with the Kansas Humanities Council, Kansas State University Library, and the Kansas State University Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy.