The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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May 16, 2009

Fears to continue ‘Legacy of Freedom’ series

J. Rufus Fears, the David Ross Boyd professor of classics at the University of Oklahoma, returns to Enid this month to continue his popular series, “Legacy of Freedom.”

The lecture will be held at 7 p.m. May 28 at Montgomery Hall on the campus of Northern Oklahoma College Enid. The presentation is open to the public free of charge.

Fears holds the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty. He also currently serves as David and Ann Brown Distinguished Fellow of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Fears is an acclaimed teacher and scholar who has won 25 awards for teaching excellence including the Medal for Excellence in College and University Teaching from the Okla-homa Foundation for Excellence, the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) Great Plains Region Award for Excellence in Teaching and the UCEA’s National Award for Teaching Excellence.

Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center recently named Fears as scholar in residence for the educational arm of the Heritage Center, the Leadership Institute. In this capacity he will be leading the Heritage Center in a variety of educational programs to teach leadership principles exemplified by those who settled the Cherokee Strip and through their perseverance developed northwest Oklahoma into a prosperous region with strong family values. A main goal of Heritage Center Leadership Institute is to reach thousands of school children in this region and beyond through teachers sharing the knowledge they have gained through these educational opportunities.

Fears will be teaching the first programming event of the Leadership Institute May 26-29. The program will be a four-day educator’s seminar, Leadership Across the Curriculum, as a three-credit, graduate-level course. Fears will be teaching his Legacy of Freedom series based on America’s legacy of leadership. The series covers information on our founding fathers, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Field trips highlighting leaders in the Cherokee Strip will be scheduled each afternoon.

Scholarships to cover all costs of the seminar are available through CSRHC until Monday with class registration open through Friday.

The four-day educator’s seminar will provide an opportunity for kindergarten thought 12th grade teachers to learn lessons of leadership based on founding fathers’ experiences and discover how these lessons can be applied across the curriculum at all levels. This opportunity emphasizes the importance of learning from leaders of the past to help mold our country’s future heroes in school systems today.

“The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center and its programs will be tremendous assets to our community,” said Shawn Hime, Enid Public Schools superintendent. “The upcoming teacher institute, Leadership Across the Curriculum, is a great professional development opportunity for teachers throughout the region. Dr. Fears’ unique perspective and engaging speaking style will inspire educators and impact their instruction in the classroom. Teacher and students, alike will benefit from this innovative program.”

Fears’ books and monographs include “The Cult of Jupiter and Roman Imperial Ideology” and “The Theology of Victory at Rome.” He has edited a three-volume edition of “Selected Writings of Lord Acton.” His discussions of the Great Books have appeared in newspapers across the country and have aired on national television and radio programs.

For information, call Andi Holland at the center, 234-8999.

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