A Blog on McConnell Center Life

By Sarah Stovall , Class of 2014 Sarah Stovall meets CIA Director David Petraeus There are a lot of impressive things about the McConnell Scholars Program. As I look back over the past two years, I am honored by the opportunities afforded to us by the McConnell Center. Even in the past month, we have met CIA Director David Petraeus and Aung San Suu Kyi, an inspirational advocate for democracy and leader of the NLD party in the Burmese parliament. As grateful as I am for having the privilege of meeting both of these excellent leadership figures, something even more impressive still has been the way the McConnell Scholars have stepped up in the area of service. Along with Leadership and Scholarship, Service is one of the the core tenants of the McConnell Scholars Program. But, in the past two years, much has been done on the part of the Scholars to make service a more significant part of the Scholars program. In my opinion, the effectiveness of the other two core tenets, Leade...

Adam Dahmer lectures about Celtic traditions. By Kevin Grout , Class of 2016 Adam Dahmer, a senior McConnell Scholar, treated us to a seminar on Celtic culture and history. After years of intensive study on the subject, Mr. Dahmer came prepared to share their entire lifestyle with the Scholars. Even dressed in the traditional kilt, the presentation covered the origination of Celtic mythology to the written language. As a freshman this was one of my first seminars, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Mr. Dahmer spoke with such passion about the subject. He conveyed knowledge and research while engaging the whole room in a fun discussion on the Celtic culture. The seminar concluded with some traditional Irish music, played live, and a special ceremony. It is surely one I will remember! Kevin Grout, of Florence, is a freshmen McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying political science and history.

Jonathan Michael By Jonathan Michael , Class of 2013 As we start this new school year, I have to take a moment to admit that not only does it feel strange to be a senior but it is bittersweet after realizing I will soon leave the university and the McConnell Center. Nonetheless, there are many exciting things to look forward to this year; with guests such as CIA Director David Patraeus and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, this is bound to be one heck of a semester. But, as usual, it is not just about the special guests that come to the Center, my experience as a McConnell Scholar is about the seminars and lectures that I will be able to participate in. Covering a range of topics, including different historical events, laws, rights, books, theorems, etc., I look forward to discussions of F.A. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, 1948, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter . Additionally, one my fellow classmates, Adam Dahmer, will be giving a lecture on Celtic history, which should definitely be an in...

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the University of Louisville By Abeer Sikder, Class of 2014 On September 24, 2012, I experienced my greatest moment as a McConnell Scholar – and one of the greatest moments of my life. I met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It was a tremendous experience. She is perhaps the most profound democratic leader of our time. With her elegance, her passion, and her love, she is an amazing inspiration to everyone in the world who desires peace and equality. Her speech motivated me to write a simple sonnet about her magnificence. She means so much to Burma, and to the world. She has touched the hearts of so many people. I hope my words can one day be as graceful as hers. For now, this is what I have to say: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Today I met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi So beautiful, so lovely, so filled with glee Her ultimate weapon – fighting through peace She is much more than a symbol, and she has so much to teach. Democracy through nonviolence is her plea Sh...

Meagan Floyd By Meagan Floyd , Class of 2013  “There is no hope without endeavor.” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spoke these words to the McConnell Scholars after her public speech this morning. Few leaders have illustrated this principle in their lifetime better than Suu Kyi. After nearly two decades on house arrest, she is fighting as strongly as ever for the cause she believes in–democracy for her country. Set backs continue to strike the country of Burma–ethnic conflicts plague the border region and human rights advocates continue to find abuses by the army across the country. Yet each small step brings hope to the people of Burma whether it is the easing of Western sanctions or release of political prisoners. As a uniting force of Burma, many have compared Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Ghandi or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but she is too modest to believe such things about her self. It was truly amazing to see such humility from one of the ...

Benjamin Whitlock, McConnell Scholar By Ben Whitlock, Class of 2015 * (From my Stream of Consciousness Collection) Growth is something we’re all faced with. Babies grow to be children, children grow to be young adults, adults to middle aged, and middle aged people to elderly people... What does it mean, though... to grow? Of course, we all grow physically. That much is clear and inevitable… To grow mentally, however – to learn, to read, to have a better sense of awareness, to broaden one’s outlook on life, to write, to mature – that much is not so clear. It seems, in fact, that some grow, and then plateau. We see these people scattered throughout life – content with the heights they have reached and happy to never develop further… And others, strive to reach the heights of Everest... where Plato, C.S. Lewis, Socrates, Elliot, and other such individuals swap stories with Edmund Hillary. [2] I believe that deciding which to be is a deeply personal endeavor. One mus...

CIA Director David Petraeus with Gary Gregg, right, director of the McConnell Center  From yesterday's lecture on leadership by David H. Petraeus, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: "Thanks to Gary Gregg, McConnell Center director, [U.S. Sen. Mitch] McConnell, and the McConnell Center staff, “We can be confident that leaders with the right skills and the right attitudes are being developed right here to lead us in the future – leaders who are comfortable in multiple arenas, and more importantly, willing to embrace the unfamiliar and willing to confront dynamic situations,” Petraeus said." Full story ; photos

By Arsh Haque , Class of 2015 A division exists in education: teaching how to think and what to think. This pattern of learning was brought to my attention in a Liberal Education seminar my freshman year and allows me to articulate the unique relationship I have since shared with the McConnell Center. By instructing how to creatively and morally think, the program has fundamentally supported my substantive growth as a person. Adopting a nearly Socratic persona, I was exposed from the beginning to an academic culture that focused less on answers and more on questions. I recall during the aforementioned seminar of frustratingly criticizing a text underlining the importance of personal virtue, “But the text doesn’t tell you what a good person is!” The response I was given echoed an old school of thought: read good books, strengthen your resolve in what is good, and achieve it. I have come to understand that the purpose of that seminar was to tell us what is ...

By Justin Brandt , Class of 2013 Earlier this semester, a few of us McConnell Scholars delved into F.A. Hayek's Road to Serfdom . I attended a seminar with Dr. Stephan Gohmann, a professor in the University of Louisville's economics department, who guided us through Hayek's work. The basic argument in Hayek's book is that the public policies taking place in England and the United States around 1944 (when the book was originally published) were frighteningly similar to those that established the roots of Nazism in Germany. Hayek argues that the totalitarianism witnessed in Germany was the inevitable result of socialism. Germany began to tout the importance and capability of social organization that could lead the state to progress beyond the backwards regime of individualism. Once the scholars and politicians merged the passions of nationalism and collectivism, the individual was marginalized and the government transformed into the totalitarian state ...

By Jessica Bagby , Class of 2013 As I look back on my past three years in the McConnell Scholars Program, there are many aspects of being a Scholar that I have definitely taken for granted. Distinguished guest speakers, full scholarships, discussions of literature, and the prestigious title seem to take the forefront of the glamorous side of being Scholar. Yet, this week while studying for an upcoming quiz, I finally took note of an aspect of being a Scholar that we tend to forget and one that fails to be recognized–the Weber Lounge. The Weber Lounge is a part of ever Scholar’s weekly, if not daily, life. It is our quiet place, place of study, retreat, and for many commuter students, our home on campus. As aforementioned, I spent over four hours in the Weber Lounge this week preparing for a quiz and it was at this moment that I realized how fortunate we truly are. Unlike my fellow University of Louisville students, I did not have to battle for a spot in the libr...

A few days back, I was asked by Sherry Allen if I would be interested in being the event leader for the seminar on Celtic myth being led by one of our fellow scholars (and all-around wonderful person) Adam Dahmer. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. It is not often that we are able to have one of the scholars lead a seminar for the rest of the program, but...Adam is a special case. If you've met him, you understand. If you haven't...you haven't lived. Adam's seminar is sure to be very insightful, informative, but most of all, unforgettable. I know I will be there ready to learn, and I hope the rest of the program is, as well. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am greatly looking forward to. After the event, I will be posting another blog as an update to this. Max Morley

By Dr. Gary L. Gregg, II , Director of the McConnell Center Last week, the Republican National Convention added a plank to its party platform calling on state officials and trustees to police political indoctrination on the campuses and classrooms of public universities: "We call on State officials to ensure that our public colleges and universities be places of learning and the exchange of ideas,   not zones of intellectual intolerance favoring the Left." I won't weigh in on this challenge to our colleges and universities, but it does make me reflect on what a diverse and intellectually stimulating program we are blessed to have at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. Our students come from every possible political perspective and they insure lively discussions and debates. They take university courses in every imaginable topic and from teachers they choose. Our students bring to the Center a diverse religious perspective–ranging from Sout...