C of O prepares for symposium with lineup of prominent speakers

Provided by College of the Ozarks

Former Vice President Mike Pence is among the speakers.

Point Lookout-based College of the Ozarks is preparing for a symposium next week, and with it comes several familiar faces in American politics.

Mike Pence, former vice president, Dr. Ben Carson, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary, are among the speakers scheduled for The National Symposium on Patriotic Education. The event is slated to be livestreamed Sept. 16-17.

“Offering this as a complimentary livestream event increases our outreach and allows us to draw many concerned citizens into the conversation about the importance of patriotic education," said Marci Linson, vice president for patriotic activities and dean of admissions at C of O, in a news release last month. "We trust that accessing the content of this meaningful online event will prove convenient and educational for our guests.”

The symposium, college officials say, will focus on reviving historic American values with discussions on religious freedom, veterans and military service, and free enterprise.

Pence's Sept. 17 session will center on "transforming society through virtuous public, civic and military service," college officials say.

“Vice President Pence has undoubtedly witnessed the decline in American patriotism in the halls of government and in our communities,” Linson said in the release. “We are honored to have him speak at the symposium on the importance of reversing that trend."

The other speakers are Edward Graham, vice president of programs and government relations for Samaritan’s Purse, and Ryan Manion, president of the Travis Manion Foundation.

As C of O brings in Trump administration leaders for the symposium, the college continues to engage in litigation against the Biden administration.

The college in May sued the administration, alleging violations of religious freedoms over President Joe Biden's executive order for protections of housing discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. In the appeals process after a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was denied, C of O last month gained support from 14 states, as well as a handful of universities and organizations, in the lawsuit.