America 250: Then, Now & Next

Featuring Keynote Speaker Jon Meacham
Thursday, September 24, 2026
7:00 p.m. at the Flint Institute of Arts
1120 E. Kearsley St., Flint, MI 48503
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We cordially invite you to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government at Central Michigan University and the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In partnership with the Ballenger Eminent Persons Lecture Series at Mott Community College, we hope that you will join us for a public keynote address by presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham.

About Jon Meacham

Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham is one of America's most prominent public intellectuals. A highly sought-after commentator, Meacham regularly appears on MSNBC, CNN, and other news outlets. A skilled orator with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion, and current affairs, Meacham has the unique ability to bring history to life and offer historical context to current events and issues impacting our daily lives—whether we realize it or not—to audiences of all backgrounds and levels of understanding.

Meacham served as Newsweek’s managing editor from 1998 to 2006 and as editor from 2006 to 2010. He is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, including And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle and Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush.

Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University where he holds the Rogers Chair in the American Presidency. In 2024 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden and was honored as a Library Lion of the New York Public Library.

Griffin Gala registration

We hope that you will join us for a private anniversary gala with keynote speaker Jon Meacham to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Griffin Endowed Chair. The gala begins at 5:30 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 24 in the Isabel Room at the Flint Institute of Arts. Please register for the private gala by Thurs., Sept. 17 to reserve your ticket.

Griffin Gala Registration

Student meet and greet with Jon Meacham

Central Michigan University is providing a charter bus from Mount Pleasant to Flint and back for students to meet with Jon Meacham ahead of the public talk. The bus departs from Lot 22 at 3:15 p.m. Please email SPSJPS@cmich.edu to reserve your seat on the bus. Student transportation is free.

Event sponsors

The Griffin Forums are sponsored by the Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government within the School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service with support from the Philip A. Hart and William G. Milliken Endowed Speaker Series for Integrity in Politics at Central Michigan University. The 25^th anniversary event is also co-sponsored by the Ballenger Eminent Persons Lecture Series at Mott Community College.