Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The Unfinished Work

Today is a very, very important day in Springfield, Illinois and on the UIS campus. Today is the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. We're celebrating those 272 words tonight with a very special Lincoln Legacy Lecture event featuring our own Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies, Michael Burlingame and two other Lincoln scholars. Many of our faculty, staff and students are participating in related events sponsored by the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, where the Gettysburg Address, written in Lincoln's own hand, will be on display for a rare public viewing. This anniversary is an important reminder to all Americans of the “unfinished work” delegated by Lincoln in this immortal speech to all American citizens. It is also a wonderful reminder to the UIS campus of the unique opportunities we have here in the home of Abraham Lincoln to embrace and grow Lincoln Studies and the many leadership lessons such study offers our students.