November 2002 marks the 50th anniversary of Dwight Eisenhower's election to the presidency of the United States. Gettysburg College -- where Eisenhower served on the board of trustees and had a post-retirement office -- and the Eisenhower National Historic Site, along with The Dwight D. Eisenhower Society, the Eisenhower Institute, the Eisenhower Foundation, and the Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg, are sponsoring a conference on Oct. 25 -- 27 that will examine the critical 1952 election and Eisenhower legacies in domestic and foreign affairs.
Scholars and former Eisenhower associates, as well as members of the Eisenhower era press corps, will participate in a series of panels. Plenary lectures, a theatrical performance, and visits to the Eisenhower National Historic Site will be among the highlights of the weekend.
The conference will begin with a session by the Eisenhower Papers editors, who will discuss what they learned while producing the 21-volume set of Dwight Eisenhower's correspondence and papers. Douglas Price, former campaign aide and Eisenhower Administration staff member, will later reminisce about "Campaign 1952," followed by a theatrical performance on "Ike and Mamie" by Bill and Sue Wills.
Saturday's activities will include Eisenhower historian William Pickett's discussion on the "Making of the Eisenhower Presidential Candidacy in 1952," a talk on the campaign of 1952 by Eisenhower historians, and Princeton University Political Scientist Fred Greenstein's presentation on how a visit to the Eisenhower Library changed his views of the nation's 34th president.
Conference participants will also choose from the following concurrent sessions on Saturday: Eisenhower staff members and journalists who covered Ike will reminisce about Eisenhower, and Eisenhower scholars will assess the domestic and foreign policies of the Eisenhower Administration. After dinner, excerpts from George Colburn's new film "The Campaign of 1952" will be shown, and David Eisenhower will speak on "My Grandfather as a Historical Figure." The conference will conclude on Sunday morning with tours of the Eisenhower National Historic Site.
With a student body of approximately 2,400, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park. The college was founded in 1832.
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