L.E. Meador Center for Politics and Citizenship

10/01/2026

Join us for the next event in the Meador Speaker Series!

On Tuesday, October 27 at 5:30 p.m. in The Lyceum (Olin Library), Dr. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Vice Provost and Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education at Missouri S&T, will speak on “Global and Domestic Implications of the US/Israel War with Iran.”

Dr. Boroujerdi is a nationally recognized scholar of Iranian politics and international affairs. Before joining Missouri S&T, he served as a professor at Syracuse University for nearly three decades and as Director of the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. He is the author or editor of several books on Iran and has served as President of the Association for Iranian Studies, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow.

His expertise is regularly sought by major news organizations, including NPR, The New York Times, Reuters, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, and Al Jazeera.

In August, he penned a poignant and personal reflection in a Guest Essay, published by the New York Times, entitled "This Is What My Father’s Assassination Taught Me About the War in Iran" and is posted in the comments (Gift Article).

Who: Dr. Mehrzad Boroujerdi (https://sites.mst.edu/boroujerdi/)
What: “Global and Domestic Implications of the US/Israel War with Iran.” (Meador Center Speaker Series)
When: Tuesday, October 27, at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Lyceum (Upper floor of Olin Library on the Drury campus)
Cost: NONE. Meador events are free and open to the public.

05/11/2026

04/10/2026

Last night marked the final speaker in our celebration of “10 Years of the Meador Center.” We were thrilled to welcome Professor Melissa Murray of NYU School of Law and co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, who spoke on “The Supreme Court in American Life.”

Earlier in the day, she joined students in Dan Ponder's Supreme Court and Constitutional Law class, offering thoughtful insights and engaging discussion. We capped off the evening with dinner at Café Cusco alongside about 15 Drury students and members of our Political Science faculty—a fitting and memorable way to close out a wonderful year.

Stay tuned for details about next year’s speaker series!

03/25/2026

Please join us for our final talk in the Meador Lecture Series, "10 Years of the Meador Center."

Professor Melissa Murray of NYU Law, co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny, and former clerk to then Federal Judge (nor Supreme Court Justice) Sonia Sotomayor, will engage in a conversation on "The Supreme Court in American Life" on Thursday, APRIL 9, at 5:30 p.m. in the Washington Avenue Baptist Church on the Drury University Campus (between Shewmaker and the Mercy Science Center on Drury Lane). As always, this talk is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! No tickets required.

03/20/2026

Join us on April 9 at 5:30 PM for our final speaker in our Meador Center 10 year anniversary celebration! 

The Drury University Meador Center for Politics and Citizenship is dedicated to the academic inquiry of politics and citizenship in the modern world.

03/18/2026

Another great crowd was on hand today to hear DU alum James Owen discuss his newly published book, The Wicked Among Us. Thanks to James and to everyone who came out for an interesting, lively discussion about one of the most enigmatic figures in recent Springfield history.

03/15/2026

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A BOOK TALK ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, at 12: NOON IN THE DRURY LIBRARY.
Many locals will recall Rolland Comstock—an eccentric attorney, owner of pet wolves, and curator of a massive, world-famous personal book collection in the Ozarks—whose 2007 murder stunned the community. James Owen, who knew Comstock personally and worked for him right out of law school, spent years researching and writing this compelling story, filled with all the intrigue, mystery, and twists of a gripping true-crime drama.

The book is by Drury alum James Owen (BA Drury 2000; JD University of Kansas 2004). He will discuss his new book, The Wicked Among Us: Murder, Blackmail, and Book Collecting in the Ozarks.

A book signing will be held immediately after the talk.

See you then!