The head of the Ashbrook Center, a great friend of NR and conservative principles, and a determined Happy Warrior, passed away late last week after a sudden illness. We’ll have more about Roger Beckett in the coming days, but thought it good to share the statement that Ashbrook released this afternoon.
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2018
Ashbrook Center at Ashland University Announces the Death of Executive Director Roger L. Beckett
Beckett Known For His Role In Bringing National Attention to Importance of Civic Education in American Life
Ashland, OH — The board and staff of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University announced with a heavy heart today that the national education organization’s executive director Roger L. Beckett passed away suddenly September 14. He was 44.
“Roger was a great leader, family man and friend, and played a pivotal role in making the Ashbrook Center the national leader in history and civic education it is today,” said Marvin Krinsky, chairman of Ashbrook’s board. “The board and staff of the Ashbrook Center are fully dedicated to honoring Roger’s legacy by ensuring Ashbrook’s continuing growth and success.”
The Ashbrook board has appointed Patrick Maloney, Ashbrook’s COO, as the organization’s interim executive director.
“Roger believed that history and civic education is vital to the future of our country, a country he loved his whole life, and this belief showed in his unwavering commitment to the Ashbrook Center,” said longtime friend Robert Alt, president of the Buckeye Institute and Ashbrook board member.
Roger had been the Ashbrook Center’s executive director since 2013 and had worked with the center since 1997. He led the effort to create Ashbrook’s Master of Arts degree in American History and Government, both online and at Ashland University, as well as a variety of other programs for middle and high school history teachers to strengthen their understanding of American history and America’s founding principles. Additionally, he regularly wrote for and was interviewed by the nation’s news media on topics related to history and civic education.
During his tenure at Ashbrook, Roger also served as an appointed member of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, where he chaired the Public Education and Information Committee from 2012-2017. He was a member of the Philadelphia Society, served as a member of the Ohio Humanities Council (appointed by the Ohio Governor in 2007), and was a part of the 179th Airlift Wing Committee, a Mansfield, Ohio community committee that successfully saved the base from closing during the Pentagon’s Base Realignment and Closing process in 2004. For two years, he served on the selection committee for the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. He was also a Publius Fellow at the Claremont Institute.
He is survived by his wife, Danielle, and his two daughters, Laura and Sydney; his mother Frances Beckett; his sister Ronda (Rusty) Bruce; brothers Robert Beckett and Randy Wilson; his father and mother-in-law Les and Sharon Fuller; his sister-in-law Yvette (Karl) Gerhard; numerous nieces and nephews; and countless friends across the country.
“The cause of education in the history of this great country has suffered a major blow with the death of Roger Beckett. Through his leadership of the Ashbrook Center, whose master’s degree program for history teachers has produced hundreds of teachers schooled in our founding documents, he has had a huge and lasting impact on countless American high school students. And under his direction, the Ashbrook Scholars at Ashland University have been challenged to explore the great ideas of Western civilization. Roger Beckett’s legacy is profound,” said William G. Batchelder III, former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.