Feb. 16, 2024

Lemon Lecture to feature New York Times columnist, author March 4

By Georgia McGonigle, communication assistant

Northwest Missouri State University will host Ross Douthat, an author and columnist for The New York Times, for the University’s Distinguished Lecture Series and annual Lemon Lecture next month.

The event featuring Douthat, which will include a question-answer session, begins at 7 p.m. Monday, March 4, in the second-floor classroom at the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. It is free and open to the public.

Douthat’s lecture is titled “The Decline and Rebirth of the American Empire: Why America is Troubled Right Now But May Be Dominant Again Tomorrow.”

Ross Douthat

“Ross Douthat was suggested to the committee as a speaker and writer with a long career speaking to the most important issues of our time – be it politics, religion, contemporary society or higher education,” Dr. John Gallaher, a Northwest professor of English and member of the Distinguished Lecture Series Committee, said.

Gallaher added, “Ross Douthat doesn’t shy away from strong statements and has intelligent, informed opinions on the most important issues of today and the future.”

Douthat joined The New York Times as an opinion columnist in 2009. In addition to his column appearing on Sundays and Tuesdays, he hosts The Times’s weekly podcast, “Matter of Opinion.” Before joining The Times, he was a senior editor and blogger for the Atlantic. He also is the film critic for National Review.

His latest book, “The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery,” was published in 2021. His other books include “The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success” (2020), “To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism” (2018), “Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics” (2012), “Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class” (2005), and “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream” (2008) with co-author Reihan Salam.

The objective of the Distinguished Lecture Series is to enhance the academic environment through individual discipline and interdisciplinary topics. Supported by the Office of the Provost and the Student Activities Council, the series offers the Northwest campus and surrounding communities with opportunities to hear from extraordinary individuals from throughout the globe. Scholars, world travelers and leaders in their fields visit the Northwest campus to share their wisdom, insight and experiences.

Funding support for the Lemon Lecture series is provided through the generosity of Beatrice E. Hanson, who graduated from Northwest in 1936. The program is named in honor of James H. Lemon, her grandfather and a founder of the Fifth District Normal School, which is now Northwest Missouri State University.