LEXINGTON, Ky.
With its doors now open, the goal of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship is to promote international diplomacy and conflict resolution.
The center, which opened Thursday, was inspired by Henry Clay, a 19th century Lexington farmer and thoroughbred owner, who was elected U.S. senator and known as the Great Compromiser.
“We are making no secret of aspirations for the center to become a resource center for the application and craft of statesmanship” on a global basis, says Robert N. Clay, co-chairman of the board for the center.
The center’s first objective is to host a one-week annual short course for 50 college juniors, representing each of the 50 states, to learn the statesmanship skills embodied by Clay’s life. Students will be selected by U.S. senators from their state.
“Our aim is to bring people from across the country together to get that sense of the importance of statesmanship,” says Carey Cavanaugh, director of The Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.
A historic ideal of the United States has been to pursue statesmanship, mediation and compromise in conflicts, says Cavanaugh, a former U.S. ambassador and peace negotiator in several former states of the Soviet Union.
