Tom DeFrank
November 7, 2007

ANN ARBOR -- Currently Washington Bureau Chief for The New York Daily News, DeFrank received last year’s Gerald R. Ford Prize for Reporting on the Presidency. DeFrank spoke at the Library about his new book Write It When I’m Gone:  Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford, a work based largely on private interviews he conducted with President Ford over the past sixteen years.

Sons of the American Revolution
Wreath Laying Ceremony
November 2, 2007

GRAND RAPIDS -- Gerald R. Ford was a Son of the American Revolution, and on November 2, other members of the organization came to the Museum to pay their respects at Ford's Memorial site.

Richard Norton Smith
Wednesday, October 24, 2007  

GRAND RAPIDS -- Noted historian Richard Norton Smith spoke before a large audience in the auditorium of the Ford Presidential Museum.  Mr. Smith reflected on long-time friend, President Gerald R. Ford.  The Ford Museum co-sponsored Mr. Smith's visit with Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies.

Benton Becker
Tuesday, October 16, 2007  

GRAND RAPIDS -- In conjunction with Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives, Professor Benton Becker spoke at the Museum and revealed his first hand experiences as legal advisor to Congressman Ford during hearings before the Senate Rules Committee and the House Judiciary Committee to be confirmed as Vice President under the newly ratified 25th Amendment.

Congressman John Lewis
Friday, October 5, 2007  

GRAND RAPIDS -- Congressman John Lewis opened Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives at the Museum.  Often called “one of the most courageous persons in the Civil Rights Movement ever produced,” John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls “The Beloved Community” in America.  At left, Congressman Lewis discusses his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement.

Charlie Savage, Author
Tuesday, October 2, 2007

ANN ARBOR -- The Library in Ann Arbor hosted Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Charlie Savage for a talk about his new book, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy. Savage, a Washington correspondent for The Boston Globe, is the most recent recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency, sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Foundation.

Vice President Dick Cheney
September 14, 2007

GRAND RAPIDS -- Vice President Dick Cheney gave a major policy address to a capacity crowd at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum on Friday, September 14, 2007.  The Museum staff, along with the Vice President's advance team and the Secret Service, worked throughout the week preceding the event to create stage backdrops and proper lighting, and plan for appropriate security.  Special arrangements were made to maintain access to Museum exhibits for school groups and bus tours with reservations for the day of the visit.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales
August 15, 2007

GRAND RAPIDS -- U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales paid his respects at President Ford's gravesite during visit to Grand Rapids on August 15, 2007.  The Attorney General also visited the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum while in Grand Rapids.

Daniel Levitas
July 24, 2007

GRAND RAPIDS -- Writer and researcher Daniel Levitas spoke at the Ford Museum. He is an expert on anti-Semitism, neo-Nazi organizations and social movements, and the author of The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, November 2002), which was nominated for a 2002 National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize (2002).