We hold Firing Line debates on a variety of subjects, from American defense policy to free trade to the Constitution. Past debaters include Newt Gingrich, Prof. Akhil Reed Amar, and many others. 

The speaker series sponsors a variety of lectures, teas, and lunches. Guests include politicians, government officials, journalists, and academics. Most of our events are held on campus, with a few exceptions. Check out our events section for up to date information and a list of our past speakers.

As part of our effort to promote thoughtful discussion, the Buckley Program sponsors one-day seminars on a wide range of topics. We offer these seminars throughout the academic year.

 

In March 2015, we launched our multi-day seminar program. Held over three days during winter, spring, summer, and fall breaks, topics and professors have included: 

 

• William F. Buckley, Jr. and the Rise of Modern Conservatism with Alvin Felzenberg 

• The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Conservatism with Steven Hayward 

• The Federalist Papers and the American Founding with Charles Kesler 

• Can Markets and Morality Mix? Evaluating the Ethics of Capitalism with James Otteson

• Tocqueville's Democracy in America with Patrick Deneen 

• From Edmund Burke to Russell Kirk with Bradley Birzer

• The Once and Future Presidency with Michael Uhlmann 

• From Sumner to Trump: The Forgotten Man and Yale's Forgotten Legacy in Social Policy from the New Deal to the Present Day with Amity Shlaes 

• Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty with Paul Rahe 

 

 

The Buckley Program sponsors an annual conference each fall. Past topics have included Buckley's God and Man at Yale, Whittaker Chambers' Witness, the future of conservatism, and James Burnham's Suicide of the West. Featuring afternoon panel discussions and a gala dinner, these events attract hundreds of students, faculty, alumni, and other members of the community. 

The highly competitive summer internship program links talented Yale students with enriching summer opportunities. We've sponsored Yale students at National Review, the Manhattan Institute, Gingrich Productions, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, National Review Institute, The New Criterion, The American Spectator, and Forbes Opinion. 

 

Thanks to our donors, the Buckley Program is able to provide our interns with a $4,000 living stipend, making this experience is affordable to students of all backgrounds. As part of our partnership with Yale's Office of Career Strategy, students can apply to the internships through the Symplicity website.

Each year, the Buckley Program sponsors an essay contest for undergraduates. Judged by members of the faculty, the winners receive monetary awards. Buckley Fellows also publish a blog, The Beacon, which among other features includes interviews with our guest speakers. 

 

In advance of our fall 2014 conference on James Burnham's Suicide of the West, through Encounter Books, we commissioned a 50th anniversary reprint of the book.

 

Additionally, the Buckley Program provided support for Prof. Alvin Felzenberg's biography of William F. Buckley, Jr.

 

Finally, we commission an annual survey of college students. Click here to view our 2018 survey.