07/08/2025

First Ladies: Enduring Infidelities, Strokes and Assassinations

Virtual Program - July 14 at 7:00 pm ET

Please join us for a discussion with moderator Dr. Diana Carlin, FLARE Vice President and Professor Emerita of Communication, Saint Louis University, and author Dr. Craig Smith on his fascinating new book, First Ladies: Enduring Infidelities, Strokes and Assassinations. Dr. Smith has written 25 books, was a speech writer for President Gerald R. Ford, and consulting writer for President George H.W. Bush.

You can watch the program here: First Ladies Association for Research & Education - YouTube.

About our presenters:

Craig R. Smith, PhD, has written 25 books and scads of scholarly articles. Outside of his academic career, Dr. Smith has served as a consultant to CBS News for convention, election night and inaugural coverages. He was a full-time speechwriter for President Ford and consulting writer for George H.W. Bush.  He was also the founding president of the Freedom of Expression Foundation in Washington, D.C., which he converted into the Center for First Amendment Studies for the California State University system.

Diana Bartelli Carlin, Ph.D., FLARE Vice President, is professor emerita of communication at Saint Louis University and a retired faculty member and administrator at the University of Kansas where she taught a course on the Rhetoric of First Ladies. Read her full bio here.