Be mindful of the following date:
It was autumn of 1936 and at the suggestion of a district governor, our President Fren Musselman proposed to the Rotary club of Kent that they promote a series of lectures by nationally known speakers and thereby initiate a “ Forum of Foreign Affairs” in Kent. The purpose and objective of the undertaking was a course of lectures and conferences on international problems especially as they bear on American daily living and thought. Our national security and our desire to live peaceably in the complex and jumpy modern world depended greatly on an intelligent American public opinion on these subjects as well as our sympathetic understanding of the attitudes of people of other nations.
The subjects covered by outstanding leaders of thought in America were as follows:
“The Plain Man and International Affairs”;
“A Movement for World Christianity”;
“The Good Neighbor Policy in the Americas”;
“The United States and International Cooperation”;
“The United States in the Pacific”; and
“European Tension and American Neutrality”.
Other similar forums were held in Ohio and that led to Rotary International directing this movement from its Headquarters in Chicago.
An interesting side note was that one of the speakers at this forum was Karl Leebrick, Dean of the Liberal Arts College Of Syracuse University who later became President of Kent State University and a member of our club.
Another Moment in our history!
Jim Myers
