The Robert J. Christen Program in Early American History and Culture
The Robert J. Christen Program in Early American History and Culture was founded in 1986 to honor the memory of Dr. Robert J. Christen (1928-1981), esteemed educator and public servant. The primary benefactors of this program are his widow, Barbara Christen, their three daughters, and friends of the family. Dr. Christen began his long association with Manhattan College as a Manhattan Prep student, and then was an undergraduate in the School of Arts, graduating in 1952. As a student he was a seeker, a meticulous worker, a curious and challenging participant in all of his classes, and a notable man about campus. He joined the faculty of Manhattan College in 1958. As a teacher he was exacting but fair, drawing from each student his or her full potential.
Dr. Christen earned a Masters and Ph.D. from Columbia University. As a scholar he was a specialist in the colonial and revolutionary periods of American history. He wrote his doctoral thesis on Isaac Sears, a radical New York City patriot during the American Revolution. At Manhattan he was one of the founders of Pacem in Terris, an institute whose goal was to make the study of peace as serious a subject in academe as war.
His energies were not confined to campus. He was an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union, where he served on the Committee for Academic Freedom. He was a member of the local school board, District Ten in the Bronx, and he also was appointed to the New York City Board of Education. He was elected its president in 1976-77 and chaired the Committee for Collective Negotiations with the teachers union in the New York City school system. Because of his many contributions to education, Riverdale's Public School #81 was named in his honor.
2009 Christen Lecture
The Hudson River: The Key to America in the American Revolution
by
Col. James M. Johnson
Executive Director
Hudson River Valley Institute
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
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Professor George Kirsch of the History Department speaking about Robert Christen |
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Professor Julie Leininger Pycior of the History Department introducing Colonel Johnson |
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Colonel James M. Johnson presenting his lecture in his Revolutionary War uniform. |
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Colonel Johnson with guests at the dinner following the lecture |
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Dr. Barbara Christen, widow of Robert Christen, with her husband, Mr. Charles Cook. |
PREVIOUS LECTURES IN THIS SERIES
Inaugural Lecture: Professor Richard Morris, Columbia University, "Witnesses at the Creation: the Federalists and Its Authors," April 22, 1986.
Professors David Hawke, Corinne Weston, and Jacob Judd, Lehman College, "A Program Commemorating the Glorious Revolution," April 11, 1988.
Professor Eric McKitrick, Columbia University, "America and the French Revolution," March 22, 1990.
James Simon, Dean, New York Law School, "The Rehnquist Court and the Future of the Bill of Rights," April 18, 1991.
Co-sponsor of a program with the School of Arts on the Quincentennial of Christopher Columbus and the New World, fall 1993.
Dr. Sherrill Wilson, African Burial Ground Project, Professor Nan Rothschild, Barnard College, "Urban Archeology in New York City," February 23, 1995.
Prof. Kenneth Jackson, Columbia University, "The Capital of Capitalism: Continuity and Change in New York City Since 1624," April 3, 1997.
Professor Edward Countryman, Southern Methodist University, "New York: Toward a New History of an Old State," March 8, 1999.
Professor David Reimers, New York University, "From the Old World to the New: Immigration in Colonial and Early National America," March 27, 2001.
Professor Jacob Judd, Lehman College, and Br. Luke Salm, Manhattan College, "New York City and Manhattan College in the 1850s," March 4, 2003.
Prof. Mary Beth Norton, Cornell University, "Myth and Reality of Salem Witchcraft," April 14, 2005.
Bill Moyers, Emmy Award-Winning Television Journalist, "Making a Difference", April 12, 2007.
Page last updated on April 29, 2009
