Chapman University will soon take its first steps to create a leading, nationally-recognized Presidential Studies program after investing in growth in the field, drawing on the university’s existing strengths in interdisciplinary studies and $6 million of donor-support to garner prestige. 

The program may expand into a physical center over the next few years, complete with two newly endowed department chairs, according to President Daniele Struppa. The eventual goal is to establish a center for presidential studies on campus, which will help promote research and house events to attract visitors. 

However, Jennifer Keene, the dean of Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, emphasized the importance of developing a program first, as a center is not an academic unit and would therefore have no influence over curriculum. 

“(The center) would never be where you house a program,” Keene said. “We really want the program before we have the center, because if we just get a center and it’s not connected to our educational mission, then why do we have it?”

The initiative was announced at the Feb. 19 State of the University Address and is set to be spearheaded by three Chapman faculty members: Lori Cox Han, the Doy B. Henley endowed chair of American Presidential Studies, newly hired Luke Nichter, the James H. Cavanaugh endowed chair in Presidential Studies and Kyle Longley, the director of the War and Society program.

A possible advantage Chapman has to promote the program and center is its location. The university is located near two presidential libraries: the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. 

“It’s a natural location to have an initiative of presidential studies,” Nichter said. “Chapman has really emerged as a leader in this area, offering something that other institutions are not offering.”

The program is still in its infancy and will likely be implemented in phases over the next few years. As Nichter won’t arrive on campus until August 2021, Keene believes that planning for the program will largely take place over the next year. 

“We’re really at the beginning, and we’re looking to those faculty who’ve already started conferring,” Keene said. “But once Nichter is here, then they will spend next year really developing a strategic plan of what to roll out and what additional fundraising we might need to do.”

According to Sheryl Bourgeois, Chapman’s executive vice president and chief advancement officer, an endowed chair is the highest position university faculty can receive. Han has worked at Chapman for 15 years and is known for her expertise in the American presidency. She expressed gratitude for the position to Struppa, Keene, Bourgeois, Provost Glenn Pfeiffer and donor Doy Henley, who provided her endowment. 

“I am both humbled and honored to receive this recognition,” Han wrote in an email to The Panther. “I am a first-generation college student, and this is something that I could not have imagined when I first started graduate school.”

By contrast, Nichter, also an expert in presidential history, is a fresh hire. Struppa and Keene both told The Panther that he was given the recognition as an endowed chair in order to lead the Presidential Studies initiative with Han and Longley. 

“(Nichter) is a history professor, so we could have easily just had him be a professor of history,” Keene said. “But he is specifically an endowed chair in presidential studies, because the point is to bring in another faculty member who can spearhead this initiative.”

Keene envisions the program to focus on curriculum regarding the presidency. Keene also hopes to potentially host an event series and funding-related projects across disciplines like history and political science.

“I envision many exciting speakers and programs on campus, as well as research opportunities for our students in the coming years,” Han wrote in an email to The Panther. “Goals include planning events that will not only engage the campus community but the community at large on important civic issues related to government, politics and public policy.”

Nichter plans on splitting his duties between teaching, research and service. 

“What I hope ... is to get students involved in research and to bring historical perspective to what we’re living through right now,” Nichter said. “My goal is to really bring that kind of attention and focus to the classroom and to the Chapman community.”

Struppa aims for the program and future center to help Chapman gain national recognition as a leader in presidential studies and build upon the institution’s strengths. With Nichter joining the Chapman community, the university will have three leading faculty members in presidential studies, an advantage Struppa hopes to build on with the program. 

“My hope is that now we can become a kind of pole of attraction for other people who have interest in presidential history,” Struppa told The Panther. “We want to see this being a program that people recognize, so that when somebody on the East Coast wants to talk about presidential studies, they’ll think of Chapman.”