Gustavus Adolphus College and the Department of Political Science are pleased to announce the establishment of the Ronald S. and Kathryn K. Christenson Lectureship in Politics and Law. The lectureship is being created thanks to generous funding from Kathryn Kidd Christenson to honor her late husband, Ronald Christenson, a longtime faculty member at the College.
Ron Christenson came to Gustavus in 1969 to help establish a department and major in political science. Midway through his career at the College, Christenson found his professional passion—political trials—at the intersection of politics and law. He published two books on political trials, edited two books in politics and law, and wrote numerous articles and reviews. He received the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations’ Covenant Award in 1997, the College’s prestigious Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1993, and the Faculty Scholarly Achievement Award and Faculty Service Award, both in 1987.
Kathryn Christenson, who taught courses in English and women’s studies at Gustavus and was later a staff associate in development and public affairs at the College, is endowing the new lectureship to reflect her husband’s dual specialties in teaching and scholarship—political theory and history of political thought on the one hand and constitutional law and jurisprudence on the other.
Lectures in this new series will be given in alternate years, beginning on March 5, 2015 when Georgetown University Professor David Cole will speak publically. Dr. Cole is the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at Georgetown and is co-author of the book Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror.
Dr. Cole’s lecture on March 5 is titled “After Edward Snowden: The NSA, Your Cellphone, and the Challenge of Preserving Privacy in the Digital Age.” The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Nobel Hall of Science’s Wallenberg Auditorium and is free and open to the public.
If you have questions about the Christenson Lectureship, you can contact the Gustavus Political Science Department at 507-933-7548. Anyone interested in supporting the Christenson Lectureship Endowment can contact the Office of Advancement at 507-933-7512.
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