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Taking Questions with Richard Hardy
February 17, 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Taking Questions is a discussion series held on Our Front Porch (indoors!), where informal learning and good conversation are at the fore.
In this series, the museum welcomes some of the area’s most accomplished Historians and Political Scientists to lead conversations around topics in their field of expertise. Asking questions is essential to understanding. The museum is a community hub for informal learning and this series of programs puts guests in the driver’s seat to shape the conversation. The series has been organized with the guidance of historian Larry Balsamo, who will act as the series’ facilitator.
On Wednesday, February 17rd Richard Hardy will take questions about the The Supreme Court and the Dynamics of American Democracy: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Guests are invited to ask questions and participate in the discussion. Online participants can use the YouTube comment feature to submit questions and comments.
Join us Online LIVE or in person
The program will be streamed live on YouTube. An internet connection is needed to view and participate in the program. Use the link below to request a link for the live stream be sent to you by email or call the museum for how to access the program. There is a suggested $5 donation that can be made at the door or online when you request a ticket at https://wimuseum.networkforgood.com/events/24021-taking-questions.
About Richard Hardy
Richard J. (Rick) Hardy is Professor of Political Science and former Dean of the Centennial Honors College at Western Illinois University. He received his B.A. with honors in political science at Western Illinois University and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He has served on the faculties of Northern State University, Duke University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, and has taught a wide range of courses in American politics, Constitutional law, public policy, state government and civic leadership.
Rick has been actively engaged in civic affairs and helped lead several state-wide political reform drives (“Missourians for Limited Terms,” “Yes, for Ethics” and “Missourians for Fair Elections”), served on numerous government commissions and boards of directors (e.g., state police commission, mental health board, race relations commission, transitional housing authority), volunteered in civic organizations (Kiwanis, Rotary, Pachyderm clubs), consulted on dozens of political races at all levels of government.
Rick has also served as a political analyst for numerous media outlets (e.g., FOX News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN News, Associated Press), and has been quoted extensively in various outlets (e.g., Newsweek [Quote of the Week], USA Today, New York Times, US News & World Report, Kansas City Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch). To date, has garnered over 60 significant teaching and civic leadership awards, including the University of Missouri’s four-campus Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award, the prestigious William Kemper Award, the Missouri Bar’s Civic Education Award, and two campus nominations for the Case National Professor of the Year Award. At Western Illinois University, he won several campus awards and was selected to deliver the John Hallwas Lecture in the Liberal Arts.
Finally, Rick has nearly 50 professional publications, including two highly successful textbooks (Government in America, a 900-page, nationally used high school text published by Houghton Mifflin Company and Missouri Government and Politics published by the University of Missouri Press), anthologies, book chapters, book reviews, essays, speeches, and articles in refereed journals—American Journal of Political Science, Policy Studies Journal, Teaching Political Science, Publius: the Journal of Federalism, National Civic Review, Simulation & Games, Journal of Dispute Resolution, Vital Speeches of the Day, Presidential Studies Quarterly, PS: Political Science & Teaching, Journal of College & Character, Politics & Policy, and Law & Society Quarterly.
Rick is a native of Burlington, Iowa. He and his wife, Linda, have two children, four grandchildren, and several cats and dogs. His lifelong passions includes cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals and Iowa Hawkeyes, and an 50 years of playing the plectrum banjo, 5-string banjo, and guitar.
About Larry Balsamo
Larry Balsamo holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Missouri. For 41 years (1967-2008) he was a Professor of History at Western Illinois University where he was honored with the award of Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 1990. He has more than a dozen publications and is a co-recipient of two federal Teaching American History fronts to improve the teaching of History in Illinois public schools. In addition, he has provided fourteen different classes on various topics in History for adult learners in WIU’s LIFE (Learning Is Forever) classes. His area of academic specialties includes Civil War Era, the South, Lincoln, Civil Rights, and the Presidency.