Tonight concludes the 70th annual Borah Symposium here at the University of Idaho. Originally known as the William Edgar Borah Outlawry of War Foundation, it was established at the University of Idaho in 1929 by a grant from Salmon Oliver Levinson, prominent Chicago attorney and prime mover for the Kellogg-Briand Pact, and a man who greatly admired Senator Borah, especially for his great efforts in helping get the pact through the U.S. Senate, and his many other efforts on behalf of peace.

The first use made of the income was on September 23 & 24, 1931, when, with Senator Borah in attendance, the foundation was inaugurated. Dr. Manley 0. Hudson, Professor of International Law at Harvard University, delivered a series of four lectures dealing with the development of agencies among the nations of the world for the outlawry of war. Senator Borah also spoke.

It was not until 1938 that the foundation again sponsored an address to the university, this time by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Since 1948 the foundation has underwritten annual conferences concerned with specific facets of the general theme, the causes of war and the conditions for peace. In selecting speakers for the conferences, every effort is made to bring outstanding academicians and national and international authorities in diverse fields to the campus to participate in these deliberations.

The academic year 1959/60 saw a change from the annual conference to a single lecturer who spoke both on the university campus and in selected communities in the state.

This practice, sometimes including several different speakers during the course of the year, lasted until 1967 when the symposium format was introduced.

Each symposium is planned by a faculty-student committee which determines each year’s topic, with office, meeting space, and administrative support provided by the Martin School of International Studies & Conflict Resolution. Over the years the Borah Foundation has sponsored a variety of educational programs and activities.

Sources

Photos from top:

PG 6010_95-01, Senator William E. Borah, no date; PG 101_82, Borah Conference participants looking at globe in the library, 1950; PG 4_5-15, Borah Foundation conference participants, l-r: Dr. Donald R. Theophilus, Dr. Robert Hosack, Dr. Garcia, 1962; PG 4_5-16a, Borah Foundation conference panelists, Senator John Tower (R-Texas), far right answers a question from the floor.

Fall 2017: 70th Annual Borah Symposium, Borah Foundation Records