Hillsdale College Associate Vice President of Washington Operations Virginia Thomas announced the launch of “First Principles on First Fridays,” a monthly lecture series of the College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship.

The inaugural program for the breakfast series, scheduled for Friday, December 5, 2008, from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., features Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn, who will speak on “The Crisis of American Constitutionalism.” The event will be held at the Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C.

“This lecture series will not directly address policy issues or political strategy, but the ideas and institutions that make free government possible. We will be thinking together about what is most needed for the health and survival of our country,” Dr. Arnn said.

The next scheduled lecture will be on January 9, 2009, with speakers Dr. Burt Folsom, Charles F. Kline Chair in History and Management at Hillsdale College and the author of New Deal or Raw Deal? and Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal and co-author of The End of Prosperity. This event will be held at the Metropolitan Club, 1700 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Subsequent sessions in 2009 will fall on February 6, March 6, April 3, May 1, June 5, July 10, September 11, October 2, November 6, and December 4, with speakers and locations to be announced at a later date.

These events will be open to the press.

To RSVP for the lecture, arrange an interview, or for any other questions, please contact Jennifer Powell at (202) 600-7300 or at jpowell@hillsdale.edu.