Eugene J. McCarthy Lectureship Established for Public Policy Center

01/23/2006

"I am hopeful that this challenge may alleviate this sense of political helplessness and restore to many people a belief in the processes of American politics and of American government."

Scholar, teacher, writer, poet, statesman and public servant, Eugene J. McCarthy changed the course of history when he sought the presidency in 1968, galvanizing popular opposition to the war in Vietnam and toppling President Johnson from the White House. A five-term member of the House of Representatives, a two-term Senator and a three-time presidential candidate, Eugene McCarthy was a seminal figure in Minnesota and national politics in the last half of the 20th Century. He inspired a generation of young people and transformed the landscape of American politics.

The son of a deeply religious mother and a witty and strong-willed father, Eugene McCarthy grew up in the small town of Watkins, Minnesota, as one of four children. A bright student who spent hours reading his aunt's Harvard Classics, he was heavily influenced by the Benedictine monks at nearby Saint John's Abbey and University, where he spent seven years as a student, teacher and nearly a year as a member of the monastic community. At Saint John's, he was exposed to significant spiritual and intellectual movements – monasticism, liturgical renewal, social action, ecumenism, liberal arts – which he integrated into the fabric of his personal and professional life.

Later in life, Senator McCarthy talked of his hope "that future generations of students are exposed to the same intellectual movements I encountered as a student at Saint John's."

To fulfill this dream, and to honor and memorialize Senator McCarthy's lifetime contributions to the political, intellectual and spiritual life of America, Saint John's University has established The Eugene J. McCarthy Lectureship. It will carry on Senator McCarthy's deep commitment to the ideals and principles of democratic self-government. It will seek to inspire a new generation of young people to pursue fresh ideas, to challenge the status quo, to effect positive change in their communities and, like McCarthy himself, to lead with honesty, integrity and courage.

The Eugene J. McCarthy Lectureship will be an annual lecture conducted at Saint John's University featuring distinguished speakers who will present a public lecture on topics cherished by Senator McCarthy – politics, poetry, social and economic justice, constitutional reform, campaign finance – as well as other public policy issues. Each lecturer will spend time in residence on campus with students and faculty exploring these issues.

Like Senator McCarthy's interests, the lectureship will be comprehensive in nature and, in his memory, will emphasize, in his words, "the projection of the spiritual and intellectual ideals that I was first exposed to at Saint John's into politics and government."

"Gene embodied values at the heart of Benedictine life and reckoned deeply with Catholic teachings on social justice, personal integrity and family life," Br. Dietrich Reinhart, President of Saint John's University observed in establishing the lectureship. "He was a man whose college education and religious formation prepared him to lead others by manifesting a Christian conscience in his writing, speaking and actions... It would be a shame if the memory of this good and generous man does not live on for generations as a source of inspiration for students, faculty and the public at large."

"Through The Eugene J. McCarthy Lectureship, Saint John's seeks to do its part to further Gene's vision of restoring faith in the processes of American politics and government," added Reinhart. "The McCarthy Lectureship will be a centerpiece of the public policy center at Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict. I sincerely hope that one day soon the lectureship will evolve into a full-fledged endowed Chair in honor of Senator McCarthy. Gene dreamed that one day such a program would focus on "social justice and its relationship to economic history and moral teachings of the Catholic Church."