Ralph Hauenstein, second from left, laughs with Hank Meijer, right,
after Meijer's afternoon keynote address.
Largest ever conference on Midwest kicks off
Apr 30, 2015
The largest-ever conference on the art, history, culture and people of the Midwest, hosted at Grand Valley by the university’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, kicked off April 30 in Loosemore Auditorium in DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
Presentations included discussions about the people of the Midwest, the Midwest as a region, and conversations about the iconic nature of the region and the landscapes of the area. The afternoon keynote was delivered by Hank Meijer, co-chairman and CEO of Meijer, Inc.
Meijer presented a lecture on the history and legacy of former Michigan Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, a notorious bipartisan statesman. Meijer is Vandenberg’s authoritative biographer. Vandenberg served as a senator from 1928-1951.
The conference’s evening keynote will be hosted by Colin Woodard of the Portland Press Herald, and will take place from 7-8:15 p.m.
The second day of the conference begins May 1 from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. A full schedule of events can be found at HauensteinCenter.org.
All conference presentations are free and open to the public.
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