The Collegian

Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News

Last week, James Piereson, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, visited Hillsdale College, taught a week-long political science class and delivered a public lecture Thursday night.

The class and lecture addressed contemporary American liberalism.

Students in the class said they were impressed with Piereson's knowledge. Junior Craig Kreinbihl said Piereson "knew his stuff like the back of his hand."

Piereson, in addition to his role at the Manhattan Institute, serves as president of the William E. Simon Foundation, which makes grants to charitable organizations and conservative programs. He recently authored "Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism." He also worked on Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

A long-time friend of President Larry Arnn, Piereson's connections to Hillsdale College are numerous.

A Michigan native, he is the former executive director of the John M. Olin Foundation, which has donated money to the college. But Piereson said he has not visited the campus in about twenty years. Arnn and Assistant to the President Mike Harner asked Piereson to teach the class.

"I'm not exactly sure why they invited me to come out, but here I am," Piereson said
Piereson said he had been asked to teach the class last year, but his book and the Giuliani campaign created scheduling conflicts delaying the class to this semester.

Students said they found Piereson's teaching interesting and informative.

"He's a solid-minded man," senior Audree Heath said.

She praised the fairness with which Piereson addressed both the liberal and conservative viewpoints.

"It's not a propaganda class," Heath said. "It's not about judging liberalism, but about understanding it."

The class, which met every afternoon for three hours, required a thick series of readings, which Kreinbihl called "very overwhelming."

Although Piereson's Thursday lecture focused on the political context of John F. Kennedy's assassination, his class dealt more broadly with liberalism and its critics from 1945 to 1980.

Piereson said he found his students serious, well-read and inquisitive.
"They are very challenging, certainly to me," he said.

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