In November, TFAS sponsored its first-ever series of Constitutional Leadership Seminars led by Professor Donald Devine, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management during President Ronald Reagan’s first term and current TFAS Grewcock Senior Scholar. The purpose of the seminars was to provide Washington interns with knowledge of the Constitution and the values of the Founding Fathers. Each seminar was open to student interns in the Washington, D.C. area, including TFAS Capital Semester students. Devine’s work with TFAS is made possible by the Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation of Omaha, Nebraska.

Ninety interns signed up to participate in the seminars, which were held on November 3, 10, and 17 at The Heritage Foundation and Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship. The seminars were held during the lunch hour and offered interns from over 21 organizations an opportunity to interact with other student leaders working and studying in the nation’s capital.

The seminar topics included: Freedom’s Framework, The Constitution, and The Politics of Freedom. The attendees were provided readings to establish groundwork for discussion during the seminar.

“This was one of the clearest and most thorough explanations of the original intent and design of our constitutional government and its philosophical underpinnings,” said one attendee.

Professor Donald Devine, TFAS senior fellow and former professor at the University of Maryland and Bellevue University, conducted the seminars. Devine was an advisor to Reagan from 1976 to 1985 and was able to give the interns insight into the constitutional validity of the administration. The Washington Post described Devine as Reagan’s “terrible swift sword of the civil service.”

Another seminar attendee said, “I learned much more about Reagan and was able to hear a good amount of truly constitutional arguments.”

TFAS will sponsor more Constitutional Leadership Seminars this spring to allow even more interns to grow in their understanding of the Constitution and its implications on society today.

A special thank you to The Heritage Foundation and the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship for hosting the seminars. Devine’s work with TFAS is made possible by the Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation of Omaha, Neb.