Augustana University and the Center for Western Studies (CWS) announced today that the 28th Boe Forum on Public Affairs will feature an evening with Jon Meacham, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. The talk, entitled “What Has America Learned?” will be held at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, March 19, in the Elmen Center on Augustana’s campus.
Meacham, a former managing editor at Newsweek, is a highly sought-after commentator, regularly appearing on national news outlets, such as MSNBC and CNN. He is also a frequent guest on “Morning Joe,” “Real Time With Bill Maher,” “The 11th Hour” and was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary series, “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.” In addition, Meacham has released two podcasts with the History Channel: “Hope Through History” and “It Was Said.”
"The Center for Western Studies is thrilled to bring renowned historian Jon Meacham to Sioux Falls and the surrounding region as the first of two successive forums designed to commemorate America's 250th anniversary in 2026. We've asked Mr. Meacham to reflect on America's past and the lessons we have learned. Next year, the Boe Forum speaker will be asked to peer into the future of the American republic," said Dr. Harry Thompson, executive director of the CWS — the sponsor of the Boe Forum.
As an author, Meacham has written multiple New York Times bestsellers. And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle won numerous awards, including the Lincoln Prize. A #1 New York Times bestseller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. Meacham's presidential biography of George H. W. Bush, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. Meacham’s His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope — a portrait of civil rights icon and longtime U.S. Congressman John Lewis — also gained bestseller status. His other national bestsellers include: Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, Franklin and Winston, American Gospel and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won a Pulitzer Prize.
Meacham is also the co-author of Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the complicated motives behind the three impeachments in U.S. history. His latest book, The Call to Serve, honors the 100th anniversary of George H.W. Bush’s birth — an illuminating portrait of a man who was more than his politics.
“Jon Meacham’s renowned body of work on those most influential in shaping our nation’s past and present, combined with his leadership and scholarly contributions, positions him to deliver one of the most insightful, hopeful and timely addresses in the history of the Boe Forum on Public Affairs,” said Augustana President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. “His perspective will undoubtedly bring fresh and valuable context to the current state of our union, reminding us all that we are both called and empowered to contribute to a brighter tomorrow.”
Meacham is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, fellow of the Society of American Historians and visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, where he holds the Rogers Chair in the American Presidency. In 2024, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden and honored as a Library Lion of the New York Public Library.
Tickets for the 28th Boe Forum are free and available to the public beginning Monday, Feb. 10, at 8 a.m. To secure your ticket, visit augie.edu/BoeTickets.
About the Boe Forum
Through the Boe Forum on Public Affairs, the CWS at Augustana University has hosted many of the world’s most influential leaders. Past Boe Forum speakers include:
- New York Times Opinion Columnist, PBS NewsHour Commentator and Bestselling Author David Brooks (2024)
- Former Prime Minister of Norway and Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland (2023)
- Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation Dr. Michael A. McFaul (2022)
- Physician-Scientist and Harvard Professor of Medicine Dr. Robert Green and Leading Futurist Dr. Jamie Metzl (2021)
- Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (2019)
- 66th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (2018)
- Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (2017)
- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (2016, in memoriam)
- Microsoft Executive Robbie Bach (2014)
- Governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador to China and Singapore Jon Huntsman (2013)
- Director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen (2012)
- U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Mary Robinson (2011)
- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (2010)
- President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf (2009)
- Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Sandra Day O’Connor (2008)
- President and First Lady of Mexico Vicente Fox and Marta Fox (2007)
- Vice President Al Gore (2007)
- Presidential Envoy to Iraq L. Paul Bremer (2006)
- Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani (2004)
- Susan Dentzer together with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich (2003)
- Jordan's Queen Noor (2001)
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1999)
- First Lady of the U.S. Barbara Bush (1998)
- Prime Minister of Great Britain John Major (1998)
- President of the former Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev (1996)
- President George H. W. Bush (1995)
- Colin Powell (1995)