What Do Conservatives Believe?
An evening conversation with Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos
On Wednesday, May 31, 2023, The Russell Kirk Center made institutional history by hosting nearly 300 leaders, students and educators, friends and supporters at an event featuring a conversation with former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
The evening’s theme was “What Do Conservatives Believe?,” spurred in part by the 30th anniversary of Russell Kirk’s popular book, The Politics of Prudence. Held at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, in Grand Rapids, the gathering was optimistic in the best sense, engaging the imaginative conservative tradition of Russell Kirk with two of America’s most principled conservative leaders.
The select gallery of photos below captures some the outstanding Grand Rapids crowd seeking to renew conservatism in its theoretical, historical, religious, economic, and educational dimensions. We hope you enjoy the discussion and we’re grateful for your support of the Russell Kirk Center.
More From Our Highlights & News
Hope College Students Consider “The Human Condition”
The Tocqueville Forum of Hope College enjoyed a wonderful seminar at the Kirk Center from October 24 to 26 considering “The Human Condition.” Seminar speakers included Kirk Center Senior Fellows Gleaves Whitney and Jeff Polet, Cara Rogers (Asst. Professor of History,...
Interns Engage with Conservative Principles
Each summer, the Kirk Center welcomes a group of interns from the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty to an intellectual retreat to focus on first principles. This July, Acton interns gathered in the Kirk library for a seminar titled "Politics,...
Graduate Students Discuss “Liberty and Liberal Education”
On April 22 - 25, graduate students invited by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute met at the Kirk Center for a conference on “Liberty and Liberal Education,” co-sponsored by Liberty Fund, Inc. They examined the connection between liberty and liberal education, with...
Seminar Explores Shakespeare’s Plutarch
On March 25 - 27, Hillsdale College students gathered for a seminar at the Kirk Center on the topic: “If You Have Writ Your Annals True: Plutarchan Lives and Shakespearian Tragedies.” Students read aloud selections from the plays Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, as well...