Many consider Abraham Lincoln to be the greatest American president to date. Revered across the political spectrum, Lincoln believed in a small but active government in a nation defined by aspiration. He embraced the market and the amazing transportation and communications revolutions beginning to take hold. He helped give birth to the modern industrial economy.

Lincoln’s vision of an upwardly mobile society that rewards and supports individual striving was wondrously realized. Now, it is under threat. Download Full Image

To meet these challenges, Rich Lowry, the New York Times bestselling author and editor of National Review, draws us back to the lessons of Lincoln both in his book “Lincoln Unbound”* and in a public lecture at Arizona State University titled “Abraham Lincoln and the American Idea.”

"It is imperative," Lowry argues, "to preserve a fluid economy that makes it possible for individuals to thrive and live the American dream."

Lowry was named editor of National Review in 1997. He has written for Politico, Time magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and a variety of other publications. He is a syndicated columnist and a commentator for the Fox News Channel and often appears on Meet the Press and Face the Nation. His book, "Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years," was a New York Times bestseller.

From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Jan. 22, at Old Main, Carson Ballroom, on ASU's Tempe campus, this public lecture at ASU is in celebration of the launch of the new Center for Political Thought and Leadership. 

The event will also be live streamed at the following url:  http://www.ustream.tv/asutv

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will give opening remarks at the event. 

Ducey was born in Toledo, Ohio. He moved to Arizona to attend ASU’s business school, where he earned his bachelor of science in finance in 1986.

After graduating from ASU, he began a career in sales and marketing with Procter & Gamble and went on to become partner and CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, which grew from a local shop to more than 1,400 locations in all 50 states and 10 countries.

The Center for Political Thought and Leadership will provide research and training for the next generation of local and national leaders on the foundational principles of good government, civic involvement, free markets and political liberty.

“Professor (Donald T.) Critchlow is the ideal person to lead this new center forward, and his distinguished background in political thought and research will bring great perspective and value to the center at a time of continued political deadlock and precipitous decline in civic literacy in the United States,” said ASU President Michael Crow who will introduce Gov. Ducey at the event. 

In addition to undergraduate education, Critchlow says the center will seek to engage the larger community outside the university: “Participation from many internal and external partners will encourage community involvement, create a network to foster students’ careers and provide a path for scholars to speak to the larger world.”

“It is important that the center is embedded in the community and becomes a recognized and trusted voice in the debate surrounding political thought and leadership,” he added.

This event is co-sponsored with National Review Institute, which was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1991 as the 501(c)3 educational sister organization to National Review magazine. 

Parking for the event is available for a fee in the ASU Fulton Center Parking Structure at the interseciton of University and College avenues. 

The Center for Political Thought and Leadership is a unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

*Description of “Lincoln Unbound” courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.