Doris Kearns Goodwin
2026 Walter R. Smith Visiting Scholar Series
Featuring: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Leadership in Turbulent Times
Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 at 7:00 pm
Corning Museum of Glass Auditorium
Click here to learn more about the Walter R. Smith Visiting Scholar Series and past events.
Doris Kearns Goodwin is is a world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker, Pulitzer Prize–winning
and #1 New York Times best-selling author, and a partner in Pastimes Productions.
Goodwin is often called upon by the news media, late-night TV hosts, and hundreds
of companies, educational institutions, government agencies, and nonprofits to share
her vast knowledge of leadership and provide historical context for current-day events,
especially as our democracy is challenged, international wars rage, and we continue
to struggle in a divided and polarized country.
Her eighth book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, was published in Spring 2024, became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and is being developed as a feature film by Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, Eon Productions’ Barbara Broccoli, and Goodwin’s own Pastimes Productions. Artfully weaving together biography, memoir, and history, this new book takes readers on the emotional journey Doris and her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin embarked upon in the last years of his life as they delved into more than 300 boxes of letters, diaries, documents, and memorabilia that Dick had saved for more than fifty years. The Goodwins quickly realized they had before them an unparalleled personal time capsule of the 1960s of the events and pivotal figures of the decade—John Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and especially Lyndon Johnson, who greatly impacted both their lives. Their voyage of remembrance brought unexpected discoveries, forgiveness, and the renewal of old dreams, reviving the hope that the youth of today will carry forward this unfinished love story with America.
In Fall 2024, Goodwin’s first book for young readers, The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President, was published. Especially tailored for educational use, Goodwin brings to this middle-grade
book decades of rich research combined with deep knowledge of Presidents Abraham Lincoln,
Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Adapted by Ruby Shamir
from Goodwin’s seventh book, Leadership In Turbulent Times, the two books have in common that they provide an accessible and essential road
map for aspiring and established leaders in every field, and for all of us in our
everyday lives.
In 2020, Goodwin executive produced her first documentary miniseries, “Washington,”
for the History Channel through her independent production company, Pastimes Productions
Inc. She has since produced additional miniseries on Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt,
and Franklin Roosevelt. Pastimes also released an eight-part docuseries, “Kevin Costner’s
The West,” on the History Channel, which Kearns Goodwin executive produced.
Goodwin previously authored six critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling books, including the Carnegie Medal winner The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism and Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, in part the basis for Steven Spielberg’s film “Lincoln,” which earned 12 Academy Award® nominations, including an Academy Award for actor Daniel Day-Lewis for his portrayal of the 16th president. Team of Rivals is often cited as an inspiration for business and political leaders, including President Barack Obama, and was awarded the prestigious Lincoln Prize, the inaugural Book Prize for American History, and Goodwin in 2016 was the first historian to receive the Lincoln Leadership Prize from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.
Click this link to access the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at SUNY Corning Community College
Register for the 2026 Walter R. Smith Visiting Scholar Series, featuring Doris Kearns Goodwin
This event is free and open to the public
Registration does not guarantee seating. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 | 7:00 pm
Corning Museum of Glass Auditorium
Book Signing to follow presentation
Contact CCC Development Foundation Office for more information