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About the Center

About the Center

Abraham Lincoln Center Mission Statement 

The Abraham Lincoln Center for Leadership and Public Policy will provide an intellectual environment to encourage research and study into leadership theory, ethical practices, and public policy making. The Center seeks to raise public awareness of the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln and inspire civic engagement through Lincoln’s enduring example of values-based leadership.

Abraham Lincoln Center Objectives

  • host outreach events for the public and LMU community
  • supports the initiatives of the LMU Lincoln Scholar
  • process grants/research fellowships in support of the A.L. Center
  • support and encourage research of emerging scholars
  • encourage research in the emerging fields of leadership theory and public policy making
  • collaborate with the LMU Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum
  • guide and grow A.L. Center webpages
  • offer professional development and educational resources for teachers and students

Staff & Board

Executive Director - Dr. William E. Hardy

Dr. William E. Hardy is Assistant Professor of History and Lincoln Scholar in the History Department, Paul V. Hamilton School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Lincoln Memorial University. He received his B.A. and M.A. in History at the University of Louisville and earned his Ph.D. in 19th Century American History from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Hardy specializes in the political, constitutional, and cultural history of nineteenth-century America and Tennessee history. His teaching and research interests include the life and times of Abraham Lincoln; the American Civil War and Reconstruction eras; nineteenth-century American sports; and military, Southern, and Tennessee History. He has recently completed a history of Civil War era baseball in Tennessee and is currently at work on a study of Tennessee's Reconstruction Era and a destructive fire that destroyed Knoxville, Tennessee's business district at the turn of the twentieth century.

Dr. William E. Hardy can be contacted by phone (423) 869-6841 or email: William.Hardy@lmunet.edu 

Advisory Board

Dr. Brian Dirck

Dr. Stephanie Holyfield

Dr. Charles Hubbard

Dr. Michael Lynch

Ms. Natalie Sweet

Dr. Michael Toomey 

Ex Officio - Dr. Martin Sellers

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