Upcoming lecture series offers community rare opportunity

NEWS RELEASE
Issued - September 16, 2009

ARDMORE, Okla. — Almost every student can instantly name that teacher, that special educator whose passion and ability to communicate inspired a young mind or even altered a life's direction.

For hundreds of students who attend his history classes on freedom and Western civilization at the University of Oklahoma, J. Rufus Fears is that professor. Fears, Ph.D., has been honored more than 25 times for teaching excellence, been named OU's "Most Inspiring Professor" and won Professor of the Year three times.

Beginning at the end of September, this nationally renowned scholar will bring his brand of inspiring historical seminars to Ardmore for a rare Community Lecture Series entitled Leadership in a Time of Crisis: The Lessons of the Founding Fathers. "We live in a critical moment for the history of our country," Fears said. "We live in a time of crisis as great as the American Revolution, the Civil War and World War II. At each of those times, Americans have brought forth leaders who possessed the wisdom and moral fiber to conquer those difficulties and to lay the foundation for new eras of greatness."

The Community Lecture Series will take place at 7 p.m. on five consecutive Tuesdays (Sept. 29, Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Oct. 20 and Oct. 27) at the Ardmore Convention Center, located at 2401 N. Rockford Road in Ardmore. These special presentations are open to the public and provided at no cost, courtesy of several private and public sponsors. No reservations are required, and individuals may attend any or all of the five lectures.

The lectures are an extension of the lifelong learning component of the Ardmore 2020 visioning process recently concluded by the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Wes Stucky, president and chief executive officer of the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce and an event sponsor, explained that while learning is the goal of the lectures, Fears' passionate presentation style will captivate and inspire the audience. "Dr. Fears is a remarkable educator and historian," Stucky said. "He is a powerful orator with a natural command and charm. He weaves together decades of knowledge and research with his natural storytelling ability to deliver his message in such a way that the audience experiences the topic. These promise to be remarkable presentations."

Fears further defined the purpose of the lectures: "We're going to discuss with our Ardmore audience the meaning of true leadership," he said. "What are the qualities by which we distinguish a true statesman from a mere politician, a true leader from a counterfeit? As did the founders of our country, we use the enduring lessons of history to choose leaders who will maintain and enhance our freedom."

The first lecture (Sept. 29), entitled The Declaration of Independence and the Moral Foundation of America, details the battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, and explains why the United States is the only nation in history founded upon moral principles.

The second installment of the series (Oct. 6) - George Washington: General, Patriot, and Statesman - highlights the United States' first president and examines his life as a statesman. As a general, Washington led the country to victory in the Revolutionary War. Without his leadership and sacrifice, the United States may not exist today. "Washington chose freedom and duty over wealth and luxury," Fears said. "He came out of retirement to lead our republic through its first years of freedom. He did all of this with an unswerving moral compass."

Building on the statesman theme, the Oct. 13 lecture, How Real Statesmen Meet an Economic Crisis, will reveal how the United States, as a fledgling country, overcame the debt and mortgage crisis of 1786. Fears will show how the Founding Fathers did not meet that challenge with stopgap measures and self-serving partisan politics, opting instead to establish this country's constitution.

Entitled Thomas Jefferson and Our Empire of Liberty, the fourth lecture (Oct. 20) focuses on Jefferson's innate leadership ability and vision. At a time when Napoleon declared himself emperor and ransacked Europe, Jefferson peacefully brokered the Louisiana Purchase, ensuring that freedom and the free market economy would spread across a continent.

The final presentation (Oct. 27) will shift from the national level to the state level. Fears will present Lloyd Noble: Patriot, Entrepreneur and Leader. "Lloyd Noble is one of Oklahoma's greatest leaders," Fears said. "He epitomizes the leadership and entrepreneurial qualities of the oil industry that provided the fuel and resources to make the United States a bastion of freedom during World War II. It is precisely these qualities of political and industrial leadership that Americans must use if we are to maintain our freedom and prosperity."

The Community Lecture Series is sponsored by American National Bank, Ardmore Chamber of Commerce, BancFirst, CableOne, The Bramlett Agency, Community Activities, Inc. of Ardmore, Mike and Betty Jane Cawley, The Daily Ardmoreite, Bill and Carrie Goddard, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Community Foundation of Ardmore, Tommy and Billye Joy Craighead, Elmbrook Management Company, First National Bank & Trust Company of Ardmore, Landmark Bank, Mercy Memorial Health Center, Merrick Foundation, Michelin, N.A., Noble Energy, Inc., John and Joan Snodgrass, The Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation, Wes and Peggy Stucky, and Valero Ardmore Refinery.

For additional information about the Community Lecture Series, contact Mary Kate Wilson at 580.224.6246 or mkwilson@noble.org. You may also visit www.noble.org/lecture. For media inquiries, please contact Adam Calaway at 580.224.6209 or jacalaway@noble.org.

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For media inquiries concerning the Noble Foundation, please contact:

J. Adam Calaway

jacalaway@noble.org

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.