McJimsey Lecture
The Robert D. McJimsey Seminar
The McJimsey Seminar is presented annually in memory of Robert Duncan McJimsey (1936-2009), Professor of History at Colorado College from 1968 to 2007 and beloved warden and vestry member at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
Bob was imaginative and creative. He enjoyed making up games and stories. He especially put his creativity into his teaching, always eager to find new ways to inspire his students' intellectual curiosity. Bob believed in the liberal arts mission of teaching life's lessons and possibilities.
In addition to teaching British and European history, Bob enjoyed teaching interdisciplinary courses with colleagues in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. The seminar, a joint presentation of the church and the college, explores an equally wide range of topics in history, religion, music and science.
It is the spark of intellectual curiosity tempered with humor that we honor each year as we remember our friend and teacher, Bob McJimsey.
2025 McJimsey Seminar
November 6th, 4pm at Grace & St Stephen's Episcopal Church
November 7th, 12pm at Colorado College, Tutt Library
Samuel Pillsbury on the Marshall Plan:
Caring for the Stranger and American Leadership
The annual Robert D. McJimsey Memorial Seminar, a two-day discussion of the intersection between history and religious life co-sponsored by GSS and Colorado College in memory of the late senior warden and history professor, will be offered this year by Professor and Deacon Samuel Pillsbury. This lecture/discussion will challenge participants to consider how the twentieth-century past provides perspective on the role of the United States in the world today, reflecting on the Marshall Plan, in which the United States gave billions to European nations for economic recovery after World War II. In his Thursday, Nov 6th lecture at Grace & St Stephen's, Pillsbury will consider how the Biblical admonition to care for the stranger shaped—or failed to shape—US efforts to help a stricken Europe. His initial talk in the nave will be followed by a reception in the Parish Hall. On Friday, Nov 11 in Colorado College’s Tutt Library, Pillsbury will lead a less formal conversation about three American leaders critical to the shift from isolationism to world engagement that the Plan entailed. Participants in the McJimsey Seminar are welcome to attend either or both events.
For many years Sam Pillsbury taught criminal law and American legal history at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He has authored numerous articles and books on justice and law. Ordained an Episcopal deacon in 2006, he has served the incarcerated in California, New York, and Colorado. He is currently Associate Chaplain at Centennial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. He is a member of our Grace & St Stephen's community.
