122Academics As part of the Centennial celebrations, the Department of History and Political Science hosted a year-long series called the 1924 Experience which explored the context of Harding’s beginnings through exhibits, speakers and events. Assistant professor of history Kimberly Laing, served as the Clifton L. Ganus Jr. Distinguished Chair of History and Political Science, was the coordinator of the 1924 Experience. “The Ganus chair’s job is to find ways to expand the love and understanding of history at Harding,” Laing said. “As a historian, I was interested in what was 1924 like. When Harding started, what else was going on in the world?” 1924 Experience involved around 20 different events. There were speakers from Harding and all over the country, including Dr. Beverly Gage from Yale University. Gage was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner and spoke during Homecoming week on J. Edgar Hoover and the creation of the FBI. “I just kind of went through and was like, what would I want to see if I were trying to learn about 1924,” Laing said. “And what can I get?” In addition to seminars, there was experience-based activities; such as, visiting the one-room schoolhouse at Pioneer Village and the virtual reality Harlem Renaissance. Students collected stamps and photos in a scrapbook from attending events. Laing said the more events students came to and collected stamps for, the more likely they were to receive free tickets for The 1924 Experience Dinner in April, where guests could dress in formal 1920s attire and experienced authentic food and music from the decade. The library was one of many spots on campus hosting a traveling exhibit of the 1924 timeline. Electronic resources librarian Amy McGohan said the library was a great location for this exhibit because of the high number of student visitors. “Our gate counts are higher than ever,” McGohan said. “We are having so many students in here, so this is a great place to put it — where a lot of people will see it. The program itself is amazing. There’s so many things going on, and I would really encourage people to go to it.” Another activity the Harding community participated in was the Flight Around the World Contest. The winning two students and a faculty or staff member went on a series of flights around the world in eight days — paid for by the Clifton L. Ganus Jr. Distinguished Chair of History and Political Science. Students applied in teams of two of the same gender and submitted a proposed itinerary that detailed what flights they would take and overnight stops they would include during the trip. Junior Kit Moore said she is excited about the contest. “To get to go around the world with a friend and a faculty member — it’s just a really cool experience that I would like to have, but at least I’m glad someone will get to have it,” Moore said. Honors College coordinator Kristina Chance, junior Kiera Blankinship and senior Lily Burrows were announced as the winners of the contest at am event surrounding the theme of aviation. Dr. Jeremy Kinney served as the speaker for this event. Kinney was the associate director for research and curatorial affairs at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian, and he said that his love for aviation and his job at the Smithsonian were things he was really passionate about and he encouraged students to find their own topics of interest. “Go as far as you can,” Kinney said. “The things you’re
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