Georgian Court University Magazine

at the court
Lincoln Scholar Kunhardt
Provides Candid Look
at the Legend
“I wouldn’t call it an obsession,” said Philip
Kunhardt, author, documentary producer,
and world-renowned Lincoln scholar, “but
a constant recurring theme in my career.”
Mr. Kunhardt was the guest lecturer
on campus on May 2 when he delivered
a candid look into the legend that is
Abraham Lincoln entitled, “Looking
for Lincoln.” Based on his recently
released book of the same name, Mr.
Kunhardt’s presentation coincided with
the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and
examined how the 16 th U.S. president’s
legend came into being.
He explained that his fascination with
Lincoln was almost genetic. His greatgreat-grandfather,
Frederick Hill Meserve, a
soldier in the Union Army, met Lincoln on
several occasions, and kept a diary of his
Lincoln memories. After the war, he was
assigned to guard duty in Washington,
D.C., and was on duty when Lincoln was
shot. On that fateful night, he guarded
the streets around Ford’s Theatre.
Philip Kunhardt shares his Lincoln
fascination with a GCU audience.
Putting his diary into book form many
years later led to a multi-generation
obsession of searching for Lincoln
photographs, anecdotes, and memorabilia.
Over the next century, the family’s
collection grew to over 8,000 pieces, and
is now in the possession of the Meserve-
Kunhardt Foundation. The foundation’s
massive collection of photographs from
the 19 th and 20 th centuries has been
deemed an “American Treasure” by the
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Unlike other biographies that start at
childhood, Mr. Kunhardt’s story starts at
Lincoln’s death with the bullet that killed
him, and goes through the lifespan of his
oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, who died
shortly after the dedication of the Lincoln
Memorial in 1922.
“There was something mystical—even
religious—that took place after Lincoln’s
death,” he said. His presentation was filled
with photography and anecdotes, and was
not a study of the president’s life, but rather, a
look at the legend that grew after his death.
“He was kind of a weird dude in a
way,” Mr. Kunhardt quipped. “He had
no pride and rarely combed his hair. As a
matter of fact, he often messed up his hair
before a photo because he said no one
would recognize him with neat hair.”
Yet, he cheered the president’s use of
language and his ability as an orator, his
love of African Americans and his hatred
of slavery. He was also clearly disturbed by
the way Mary Todd Lincoln was treated by
her family and the American public in the
years following Lincoln’s death.
Doreen Bove ’09, president of Phi Alpha
Theta, the national history honor society,
and vice president of the Clionaes Society
said, “I thought it was absolutely wonderful
because it made Lincoln real. It was as if
Mr. Kunhardt saw Lincoln last week.”
✭ ✭ Celebrating 100 Years of American Education ✭ ✭
What does 100 years of American
Education mean? Georgian
Court University students
asked themselves this very question during
the Spring 2009 semester and answered
with a special showcase of research efforts
representing teachers, students, education,
and GCU.
In recognition of the university’s
Centennial year, the School of Education
hosted “Celebrating a Century of American
Education,” an examination of the myriad
issues that have shaped instruction over the
last 100 years. GCU students tackled familiar
subjects like school law and math education,
and investigated complex matters like
emotional intelligence and autism.
“Education is a multidisciplinary subject
with many topics to be researched,” says
Kathleen A. Froriep, Ph.D., who co-chaired
the event with Nancy B. Sardone, Ph.D.,
both assistant professors of education
“I was amazed to see the level of research
done in such various topic areas by all of our
”Georgianopoly” by graduate students
Dana Tallman and Nicholas Rohovie
was a top winner at the showcase.
students in the education department,” says
Dr. Froriep, which she said included Catholic
education, technology and leadership,
inclusion, cerebral palsy, children's literature,
and auditory processing.
Faculty members also were impressed
with how the students presented their findings.
“The projects, which demonstrated both
student learning and creativity, included a
wide variety of formats, including two board
games (“Georgianopoly” and “The History
of the PTA”) and tri-fold visual displays
depicting main points of the research papers,”
says Jacqueline E. Kress, Ed.D., dean of the
School of Education.
Undergraduate and graduate student
projects were on display in the library for a
week before being moved to the Casino for a
recognition ceremony. Faculty announced the
top projects and the most distinguished student
teacher candidates for 2008, and awarded
winners with iPods and iTunes gift cards.
Some of the top showcase winners
included “Catholic Education for the Past 100
Years” by graduate student Gina Morrone; “A
Century of Evolution: Mathematics Education
from 1908 to Present” by sophomore Melissa
Mason; and “Georgianopoly,” a game that
resembles the classic board game Monopoly,
by graduate students Dana Tallman and
Nicholas Rohovie.
24 | FALL 2009