The Griffith Honors Forum Lecture

In 1999, South Dakota State University President Peggy Gordon Miller announced that the Board of Directors of the William Mibra Griffith and Byrne Smith Griffith Foundations had approved a substantial annual gift to South Dakota State University to bring nationally renowned speakers to the SDSU campus each academic year. The annual gift supports the highest quality enrichment experiences for SDSU Honors College students and the Unversity community. The annual lecture is formally know as the Griffith Honors Forum. 

William Griffith, a 1923 SDSU agronomy graduate, experienced a successful banking career spanning over 50 years. He was president of Farmers and Merchants Bank in Huron from 1947-1979. He died in 1995.

Bryne Smith Griffith, a Brookings native, studied music at SDSU in the early 1920s and went on to complete her undergraduate and graduate studies elsewhere. She enjoyed a professional career in music education. She married William Griffith in 1929, and the two created the Griffith Foundation prior to her death in 1990.

The Griffith Foundation supports several scholarships, research projects, and educational programs. President Miller and the SDSU community wish to express a special message of graditude for the Griffith Foundation's generous gift in support of the Griffith Honors Forum at SDSU.

Buchanan's professional career began in 1962 when, at age 23, he became the youngest editorial writer for The St. Louis "Globe Democrat." Four years later, he catapulted his political career by being the first full-time staff member to sign on for what would be called "The Resurrection of Richard Nixon." Buchanan worked closely with Nixon during the 1966 and 1968 campaigns and traveled as one of the 15-member official delegation to open up the People's Republic of China. Later, Buchanan was present at Nixon's final Moscow-Yalta summit in the summer of 1974 and eventually served as special assistant to the president throughout the final days of Watergate. In 1974, Buchanan was special assistant to President Ford. In addition, he served as White House Communications Director for President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1987. He was with Reagan at the first and second summits with Mikhail Gorbachev.

Since leaving the White House, Buchanan has become a columnist and commentator on three talk shows: NBC's "The McLaughlin Group," CNN's "Capital Gang," and CNN's "Crossfire." Buchanan has published articles in a wide range of publications, from "Human Events" and "National Review" to "The Nation" and "Rolling Stone." Buchanan has also written six books, including the bestsellers "A Republic not an Empire: Reclaiming America's Destiny" and "Right from the Beginning." His most recent book, "Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization," was published in 2001. In 2003, Buchanan founded The American Cause. This educational foundation is based on the principles of freedom, federalism, limited government, traditional values, and a foreign policy that puts America first.

Below are pictures of Griffith Honors Forums from years past. Click on the pictures, or the corresponding link on the left side of the page, to find information about past Griffith Honors Forum Lectures.