Gallatin Press Release
May 17, 2010

The Andrus Center for Public Policy in cooperation with the Idaho Humanities Council will welcome Jim Leach, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), to Boise on Friday, June 11, 2010.

Chairman Leach will be in Idaho as part of his 50-state national civility tour. Leach will speak on "Civility in a Fractured Society" during a luncheon speech at The Grove Hotel in Boise.

“We are all in this together in the shared space called America. We are all connected to one another, but sometimes the threads seem bitterly fragile. This is why a fresh infusion of respect in public discourse is so important,” Leach said recently during a commencement speech at Miami-Dade College.“Civility is an ancient virtue of civilized society. It is not simply about manners; nor moral judgments. Rather it is about respectful engagement with a sense of fair play, which is especially important when differences are most strenuous.”

Leach represented his Iowa district in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years, served as chairman of the House Banking Committee, taught at Princeton and was named by President Obama to chair the NEH in August 2009.

"At a time when our public discourse seems nastier and nastier, Jim
Leach is encouraging Americans to engage in a different kind of discussion - civil, respectful and ultimately more useful," said Marc C. Johnson, President of the Andrus Center. “This is a message that fits perfectly with the mission and approach of the Andrus Center.

Registration for the luncheon is required and can be done at the Andrus Center website – www.andruscenter.org.

About the Andrus Center

The Andrus Center for Public Policy is dedicated to independent, non-partisan policy formation on critical issues confronting Idaho, the American West and the United States.

In the 15 years since its founding, the Andrus Center has convened conferences, produced research and analysis and served as “common ground” for civil, serious discussion about public policy and some of the major issues of our times. The Center’s conferences have focused, among other issues, on the environment, wildland fire policy, water resources, journalism and public policy, national security, civil liberties and rural development.