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Prominent Historian and Author Ronald C. White to speak at Whitworth

March 16, 2017
Writer of bestseller “A. Lincoln: A Biography” and new book “A Life of Ulysses S. Grant” 

Whitworth University will welcome back esteemed American historian, author and former Whitworth chaplain Ronald C. White, Ph.D., to its campus from April 17 to May 21. He will present several free public lectures based on his bestselling and award-winning biographies on Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, speaking in the Spokane community on Apr. 18, 20, 30 and May 8, and in the Puget Sound area April 25-26. For more information, please call (509) 777-4452.

White is the author of three award-winning books on Abraham Lincoln, including A. Lincoln: A Biography (2009), a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. His newest book, American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant (2016), explores the life of the famous Union Army General and 18th President of the United States.

White began at Whitworth in 1974 and served until 1981 as a Whitworth chaplain, tenured associate professor and chairperson of the religion & philosophy department. Around campus, he was known as an enthusiastic and challenging teacher who encouraged students to strive for excellence and who earned the affection and high regard of his colleagues. White also founded and was the first director of the Whitworth Institute of Ministry (WIM), an annual conference hosted on the university’s campus and designed to provide spiritual renewal for ministry leaders and their families through different tracks in Bible teaching, dynamic preaching, vibrant worship, and time for stillness and personal reflection.

White is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Princeton Theological Seminary, and he earned a Ph.D. in religion and history from Princeton University. He has taught at UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, Whitworth University, Colorado College, Rider University, and San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is a fellow at the Huntington Library, in San Marino, Calif., and a senior fellow of the Trinity Forum, in Washington, D.C. He lives with his wife, Cynthia, in La Cañada, Calif.

SPOKANE AREA EVENTS

Simpson-Duvall Lecture, “Ulysses S. Grant: A Fresh Look at American Leadership” (Apr. 18)

Historian and bestselling author Ronald C. White will speak on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. in Whitworth’s Weyerhaeuser Hall Robinson Teaching Theatre, on the topic of reexamining our ideas regarding Ulysses S. Grant and his presidency. His presentation will be based on his New York Times bestselling book American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant.

Film viewing of Lincoln (2012) and Introduction by Ronald C. White & Leonard Oakland (Apr. 20)

On Thursday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in Whitworth’s Weyerhaeuser Hall Robinson Teaching Theatre, attendees will view Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln, in which the Civil War rages and America’s 16th president struggles with carnage on the battlefield and disagrees fiercely with his own cabinet members about the decision to emancipate the slaves. Bestselling author Ronald C. White and Whitworth Professor of English Leonard Oakland will provide the introduction.

Preaching at Whitworth Presbyterian Church (Apr. 30)

Bestselling author Ronald C. White will preach at 8:45, 10 and 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, April 30, at Whitworth Presbyterian Church, 312 W Hawthorne Rd, Spokane, WA 99218.

“The Moral and Ethical Leadership of Abraham Lincoln” (May 8)

Bestselling author Ronald C. White’s final Spokane lecture will take place Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Spokane (318 S Cedar St.). White will focus on Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, both for its brilliance as an inaugural speech and for its insight into Lincoln’s vision for reuniting the country following the Civil War.

PUGET SOUND-AREA EVENTS

“The Moral and Ethical Leadership of Abraham Lincoln” (Apr. 25)

Bestselling author Ronald C. White will present a lecture on Tuesday, April 25, at 7 p.m. at Bellevue Presbyterian Church (1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004), that will focus on Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, both for its brilliance as an inaugural speech and for its insight into Lincoln’s vision for reuniting the country following the Civil War.

“The Moral and Ethical Leadership of Abraham Lincoln” (Apr. 26)

Bestselling author Ronald C. White will present a lecture on Wednesday, April 26, at 7 p.m., at Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church (7700 Skansie Ave., Gig Harbor, WA 98335), that will focus on Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and will address both its brilliance as an inaugural speech and its insight into Lincoln’s vision for reuniting the country following the Civil War.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Jaime Warfield, executive assistant to the vice president for institutional advancement, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4452 or jwarfield@whitworth.edu.

Lauren Clark Hughes, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or lclark@whitworth.edu.