Chancellor’s Lecture Series: Why Winston Churchill Matters

Why Winston Churchill Matters

with Dr. Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College

As Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill's leadership and voice helped rally the West against the great totalitarian ideologies of his day. During his lifetime, he received nearly every honor to be had. Churchill has been called, “The man who saved Western Civilization.” We look forward to having Dr. Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College and Churchill expert, speak on Churchill’s life and significance in the continuation of a lecture series focusing on great lives who shaped our world.

About Dr. Larry Arnn

Larry P. Arnn is the twelfth president of Hillsdale College.

He received his B.A. from Arkansas State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from the Claremont Graduate School. He served as director of research for Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill. He served as president of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy from 1985 to 2000. In 1996, he was the founding chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative, which was passed by California voters and prohibited racial preferences in state hiring, contracting, and admissions.

Dr. Arnn is on the board of directors of The Heritage Foundation, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the Claremont Institute. He served on the U.S. Army War College Board of Visitors for two years for which he earned the Department of the Army’s “Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.” He was appointed in late 2020 as chairman of President Donald Trump’s 1776 Commission, which was established to restore in American education an understanding of the history and principles of the founding of the United States. The 1776 Commission Report was published in early 2021. He received the Bradley Prize from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in 2015, and most recently the Edmund Burke Award for Service to Culture and Society from The New Criterion in 2022.

He is a member of the American Political Science Association, the Philadelphia Society, Churchill Centre, the Council for National Policy, the Federalist Society, the Mont Pelerin Society, and the Philanthropy Roundtable. Published widely in national newspapers, magazines, and periodicals on issues of public policy, history, and political theory, he is the author of three books: Liberty and Learning: The Evolution of American Education; The Founders’ Key: The Divine and Natural Connection between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It; and Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government.

Dr. Arnn is a professor of politics and history at Hillsdale. He teaches courses on Aristotle, Winston Churchill, 20th Century Totalitarian Novels, and the American Constitution.

He and his wife, Penelope, have four children, Henry, Katy, Alice, and Tony, and two grandchildren, Charlotte and William.