Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government Charles R. Kesler is one of three recipients of the 2018 Bradley Prizes for individuals who work to “restore, strengthen, and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism.”
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation will bestow the awards, which carry a $250,000 stipend, at the 15th annual Bradley Prizes ceremony on May 15 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
A political theorist who is an authority on Cicero, The Federalist Papers, and modern liberalism and conservatism, Kesler joined the CMC faculty in 1983. Along with his teaching and research, he has partnered with leading conservative policymakers and writers including William F. Buckley, Jr., with whom he collaborated on a book, Keeping the Tablets: Modern American Conservative Thought. He has been the founding editor of the Claremont Review of Books for 18 years. Kesler’s most recent volume, I Am the Change: Barack Obama and the Future of Liberalism, drew critical acclaim, including a front-page review in the New York Times Book Review.
Richard Graber, President and CEO of the Bradley Foundation, said the foundation honored Kesler for “advancing the ideals of freedom in both academia and public policy.”
This year’s award winners were chosen by the Bradley Prizes Selection Committee, a group of notable leaders in various fields, after careful review of nearly 200 nominations.
Along with Kesler, this year’s Bradley Prizes also honored Allen Guelzo, a leading historian of Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Civil War. The third honoree will be announced April 16.