The First Ladies Symposium Schedule

May 6, 2021

This program will be virtual

9:00-9:15am

Welcome and Overview

• Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States
• Anita McBride, Director of American University’s First Ladies Initiative and White House Historical Association Board Member
• Frederick J. Ryan Jr., Chairman, Board of Directors, White House Historical Association
• Sylvia Burwell, President, American University

9:15-10:35am

First Ladies and Gender

• Introduced and moderated by Colleen Shogan, Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History, White House Historical Association
• Sara Georgini, Series Editor for The Papers of John Adams, Massachusetts Historical Society
• Cassandra Good, Assistant Professor, Marymount University
• Marie Jenkins Schwartz, Professor Emerita, University of Rhode Island
• Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania and Curator for the National Portrait Gallery's Every Eye is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States

Short break (10 minutes)

10:45am-12:00pm

First Ladies Reconsidered

• Introduced and moderated by Anita McBride, Director of American University’s First Ladies Initiative and White House Historical Association Board Member
• Amy Greenberg, George Winfree Professor of American History, Pennsylvania State University
• Lois Romano, Independent Scholar and columnist, The Washington Post
• Julia Sweig, Independent Scholar and author

Lunch (12:00-1:00pm)

1:00-2:15pm

First Ladies and Communications

• Introduced and moderated by Susan Swain, co-Chief Executive Officer and President, C-SPAN
• Diana Carlin, Professor Emerita of Communication, Saint Louis University
• Stacy Cordery, Professor of History, Iowa State University
• Christopher Brick, Director and Editor of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, George Washington University

Short Break (10 minutes)

2:25-3:40pm

First Ladies and Historic Preservation

• Introduced and moderated by Katherine Malone-France, Chief Preservation Officer, National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Barbara Perry, Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies, University of Virginia's Miller Center
• Nancy Kegan Smith, Former Director of the Presidential Materials Staff, National Archives and Records Administration
• Mary C. Brennan, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Texas State University

Short Break (5 minutes)

3:45-5:00pm

Key Note: The Triumph of Nancy Reagan

• Introduced and interviewed by Stewart D. McLaurin, President, White House Historical Association
  
• Karen Tumulty, author and columnist, The Washington Post

Closing Remarks

• Stewart D. McLaurin, President, White House Historical Association