Americans are fascinated by the presidency.

Presidents alternately inspire and perplex the American people. Yet while the presidency is often discussed, there is no regular gathering that brings together White House alumni, key presidential influencers, historians, and presidential scholars.

As part of its intensified focus on the American presidency, and in celebration of the bicentennial of UVA’s founding by Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the University will host a multiday Presidential Ideas Festival. A bipartisan gathering of former White House officials, elected leaders, presidential scholars, business and media leaders, and other experts will drive a thoughtful discussion on the state of the presidency as a counterpoint to the divisive partisanship that permeates our 24-hour news cycle. The living former presidents will be invited to participate as keynote speakers.

The effort will be led by UVA’s Miller Center, in partnership with the historic homes of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, as well as the major schools of the University.

The goal of the Presidential Ideas Festival is as ambitious as it is straightforward: to inspire and rejuvenate nonpartisan conversations about the presidency that demonstrate the civil dialogue critical to sustaining a functioning constitutional democracy.

Welcome to Charlottesville

The three-day Presidential Ideas Festival, scheduled for May 21-23, 2019, will take place in and around Charlottesville, Virginia, in the shadows of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, and will feature plenary sessions, discussions, workshops, interactive breakouts, and activities for students. Venues will include the University of Virginia and the historic homes of the Presidential Precinct: Jefferson’s Monticello, Madison’s Montpelier, and Monroe’s Highland.

Content, delivery, impact

By bringing together two essential groups — presidential scholars and White House practitioners — the Presidential Ideas Festival aims to apply the lessons of history to present-day governance challenges and highlight the Miller Center’s new Presidential Studies research agenda, an ambitious multiyear research plan that investigates the executive office at a crossroads.

The Miller Center has focused scholarship and public impact on the US presidency for a half century. The Center’s First Year Project, begun in 2015, leveraged the scholarship of experts from UVA and across the nation to focus on the key issues a new president must confront in the crucial  first year in office. Building on the First Year Project, as well as the Center’s Secret White House Tapes and Oral History Programs, the Presidential Ideas Festival will convene leading presidential scholars from public policy schools and centers named for presidents, such as Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Harvard's Kennedy School, Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service, the University of Texas’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, and the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The event will unite these scholars with the Miller Center’s rich network of practitioners from the White House, Congress, and the broader policy community.

We will commission original scholarship around three critical presidential areas: The president and the Constitution, the president and policy making, and the president and the people.

Getting involved

ADVISORY COUNCILS AND PROGRAM SPONSORS

The Miller Center is currently recruiting a national Presidential Ideas Festival Advisory Council composed of members of the Miller Center’s White House Alumni Network; prominent historians and political and constitutional scholars; current and former US ambassadors; presidential family members; and business leaders. Together, these Advisory Council members will help guide the planning and agenda for the festival.

The ability to explore and share these vital insights is only possible through the generosity of individuals and organizations who believe in the mission of the Miller Center, its unique process, and the value of the  findings. To make these research discoveries available to the public, the Miller Center is seeking key underwriting and media sponsors for the Presidential Ideas Festival; their involvement will be highlighted and emphasized throughout all phases of the event.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

SPONSORSHIP/PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Susan Cortese

EVENT CONTENT/SPEAKERS: Stefanie Georgakis-Abbott