Posted by BEN BEAUMONT – Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be the final speaker of 2008 at the Clinton School this afternoon. He’ll be here to discuss and sign copies of his new bestselling book, “Do the Right Thing.” Below is a note from Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford to those who’ve participated in the series this year. He also gives a couple of early looks at what’s coming in 2009.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your support of the Clinton School Speaker Series. Since opening in 2005, we have brought more than 500 speakers to Arkansas. Today we are honored to welcome Governor Mike Huckabee to conclude our 2008 series. Governor Huckabee was Arkansas’s chief executive when the Clinton School was established in 2005, and we are grateful for both his initial and continuing help.
We will announce our spring 2009 series in early January, but as a preview, we will host journalist Bob Woodward; talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw; Florida State football star and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle; and Thomas Frank, author of the bestselling “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” They are just a few among the many we have planned.
Our new River Market campus will open January 12. A special thanks to Governor Mike Beebe and Senators Jim Argue, Mary Anne Salmon and Tracy Steele for General Improvement Funds which made it possible. Located on the third floor of the renovated 1882 Budget Office Building as part of the Central Arkansas Library’s new Institute for Arkansas Studies, the facility continues our philosophy of maximizing existing community resources so that we can better emphasize scholarship and service. It is located directly across the street from the River Market, which serves as our student union and next to the Little Rock Main Library, which becomes our school library. In addition to accessing additional space in the Institute for Arkansas Studies, we’ll continue to have classes and programs at Sturgis Hall.
Admissions for the class of 2011 are underway with a February 1, 2009 application deadline. Our goal continues to be attracting the best and brightest students from Arkansas while bringing the best and brightest to Arkansas. We have students from throughout the state, the country and from Brazil, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Poland, South Africa, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam.
When our students return from the holiday break, they will continue their public service projects throughout Arkansas and will begin preparing for their summer international work. In just three summers of service, Clinton School students have served in 29 countries on all six inhabited continents.
We appreciate your being part of the excitement and the programming at the Clinton School. Thank you for welcoming, supporting and encouraging our students. On behalf of our students, faculty and staff, best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a terrific 2009.
Sincerely,
James L. “Skip” Rutherford III