The current Military History Lecture Series began in 1992.  The underlying premise of the program was that war is one of the most ubiquitous, intrusive, and costly of human activities, a feature of our daily lives that the university, as an agent of lifelong learning, has an obligation to help people understand.   In the 1980s, History had sponsored national speakers, such as William McFeely on U. S. Grant, and Russell Weigley on the American way of war.  But with the relative slowdown in state funding, to bring in many national figures was unrealistic in the 1990s.  Therefore, it was determined to pull upon the immense local resources of the Cincinnati metropolitan region.  By casting the speaker net widely, the program has obtained presenters from the ranks of military veterans and civilian participants in events, re-enactors and museum staff, scholars from a range of relevant disciplines including history, literature, philosophy, sociology, geography, psychology, law, medicine, nursing, and art.  The program staff has no preconceived editorial position and all perspectives are welcomed.

            The first presentations took place in a modest setting; events were advertised only on campus and in selected local venues, such as libraries and high school social studies departments.  Programs were held in a seminar room, late in the afternoon, with light refreshments – a sort of “discussion over tea” format.  An important advance came when Bonnie May, Lecturer in History, joined the program staff as associate director (now co-director).  Bringing a wealth of ability and experience in non-profit fund-raising to bear, Bonnie crafted a tremendous increase in the outreach capability of the program, sending knowledge of the series into all constituencies of the NKU service region.  A balance in programming was worked out whereby small intimate gatherings continued, but with the addition of larger lectures, including evening “blockbusters” featuring significant themes of broad popular interest, such as the experience of POWs in World War II.

            The Military History Lecture Series is the most successful program of its kind in the university’s history; audience attendance at daytime lectures routinely reaching at least 150 and evening presentations bringing in 500 or more attendees, including veterans, high school contingents, buffs, students and faculty.  The success of the series continues to flow from its eclectic quality, engaging a wide variety of speakers on all aspects of the experience and study of war.      

- Dr. Michael Adams, Historian / Founder