Churchill was certainly a “Constructive Alternative” to established policies throughout his career, and 2015 contains many significant Churchill anniversaries: his first election to Parliament (115 years), the Dardanelles and Gallipoli disasters (100 years), his first premiership (75 years), his retirement as Prime Minister (60 years), his death and state funeral (50 years). To that end, Churchill was the subject of Hillsdale College’s first Center for Constructive Alternatives (CCA) event of the 2015-16 academic year.

I was pleased to be part of a program featuring two old friends: Timothy Robert Hardy, the most inimitable and genuine actor to ever play the role of Winston Churchill; and Minnie Churchill, Sir Winston’s granddaughter-in-law, an expert on Churchill’s oil paintings. We were joined in presentations by two outstanding scholars, Andrew Roberts and John Maurer. CCA events are open to Hillsdale students, faculty and members of the College’s President’s Club.

Program

Sunday, October 4th

4:00 pm: “Churchill’s Early Life,” with Andrew Roberts, author, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900.

8:00 pm: “Churchill and His Pastime of Painting,” with Minnie Churchill, Chairman, Churchill Heritage Ltd., and co-author of Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings.

Monday, October 5th

12:00 pm: “Churchill and the Written Word,” with Richard Langworth CBE, Senior Fellow, Hillsdale College Churchill Project.

4:00 pm: Showing of selections from “Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years,” starring Robert Hardy and Sian Phillips (1981).

8:00 pm: “Churchill in My Life,” with Robert Hardy CBE.

Tuesday, October 6th

4:00 pm: “Churchill as War Leader,” with John Maurer, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

8:00 pm: “Churchill in Peacetime,” with Larry P. Arnn, President, Hillsdale College.

Wednesday, October 7th

4:00 pm: Faculty Roundtable