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History
and Mission |
| The
Wheeler Center is named for the late
Burton K. Wheeler,
who
earned
fame as the
"fighting
progressive" U.S.
Senator from Montana
from 1923 - 1947. |
| He is best remembered for his epic
battle to block President Franklin
Roosevelt's attempt to pack the Supreme
Court and for his Senate investigation
of corruption in the Harding
Administration's Justice Department. |
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Burton
K. Wheeler |
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| Senator
Wheeler is also remembered for his
lifelong defense of civil liberties and
his commitment to economic opportunity
for all Montana citizens. The Senator
passed away in 1975. |
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| In
1975, the Greater Montana Foundation (GMF)
sponsored the first Burton K. Wheeler Memorial
Lecture. Ed Craney,
pioneering Montana
broadcaster and founder of the GMF,
enlisted the support of the two eldest sons of
Burton K., John and Edward, in producing the
first lectures and in the expansion of the
lecture series into a more formal public policy
center. |
| The
Burton K. Wheeler Center was thus established at
Montana State University in 1988 under the
guidance of historian and then-Academic
Vice-President Michael Malone. In 1991, Dr. Malone asked Dr. Gordon
Brittan, of the MSU philosophy faculty, to
assume the Director's role, a position he still
holds. |
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