The Liberty Letter

Our campus is wonderful in the summer.

I hope your summer is filled with as much beauty.

It may be summer, but the work of reaching and teaching all who wish to learn never stops.

We’ve been very busy!

I recently returned from participating in our annual Hillsdale Cruise. The College has been hosting our friends on cruises for the past 25 years (with a couple of exceptions for international COVID rules), and it was a wonderful experience.

Hillsdale staff and special guests joined about 375 friends of the College to visit Europe and learn. Dr. Arnn, Chris Caldwell, Hugh Hewitt, and  Václav Klaus were among the speakers participants heard from during our at-sea days.

We traveled from Lisbon to London, with Portuguese, Spanish, and French port calls along the way.

For me, the most powerful part of the trip was two days in Normandy, where I was able to visit Juno, Gold, and Omaha Beaches. Having studied World War II for so long, the opportunity to walk that sacred ground and see the place so many of our boys died was beyond moving.

Walking among the granite crosses in the American Cemetery and looking over the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc are scenes I won’t soon forget.

We capped off the trip with a post-Cruise tour in England, where we visited Winston Churchill’s home, Chartwell, and the War Rooms—the nerve center of British resistance to the Nazi threat.

I hope you’ll consider joining us on a future Cruise! Next year, we’ll sail from Copenhagen, enjoying the beauty of Norway’s fjords. 

Whether you’ve been part of the Hillsdale community for years (it’s been 30 years since I first heard of Hillsdale on Paul Harvey’s radio show) or are just beginning your journey with us, your dedication is shaping a future filled with promise and purpose.

Much of our mission centers on our role as a trustee of the Western philosophical and theological tradition. Our chief aim, through education, is the “preservation of that legacy for future generations.”

Our mission is as much preparing for the future as looking to the past. And the future is bright.

Dr. Arnn’s recent conversation with Michael Knowles about Gen Z is a cause for hope. Every year, hundreds of young men and women of that generation learn the beauty of truth and a life well lived here at the College.

We bid farewell to our seniors in May. They depart from Hillsdale and enter a world of work and service. It’s a time of rejoicing in the fruits of their labor.

There’s also great joy in seeing Hillsdale’s successes on and off campus. And it’s important to point out that by Hillsdale’s success, I don’t mean only the people who work and study here. I mean all of us, including you.

Dr. Arnn often reminds us that the very word “college” means partnership, and your membership in the College makes our work possible. What success would we have without friends and supporters like you?

Signs of this success abound: From the performance of our shotgun team to our work to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, you don’t need to look far for a reason to celebrate.

Anniversaries are a time of reflection. Reflection on the importance of our commitments, the strength of our covenants, and the beauty of our mutual cooperation.

America’s anniversary is no different, and our amazing online learning team has dozens of courses on America’s history and political thought that can help you reflect on our nation’s unique story. Our newest course, “The Federalist,” will guide you to encounter a deeper love and appreciation for our American experiment in free and equal government. 

In my travels, I have met so many people whose lives are transformed by our online courses.

Learning and growing are fundamental to the good life. I know you share our mission, and your support helps reignite the spark of passion in people from coast to coast. 

Thank you for your time and your generous support. I encourage you to read through all the wonderful things we’ve accomplished this summer at the College.

If the team and I can ever be of service, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ll happily get to know you better and welcome you further into our community. We’re partners, after all.

For Liberty,

Raz Shafer
Associate Vice President of Major Gifts
Hillsdale College

The Hillsdale College Shotgun Team won third place in Division II Team High Overall at the ACUI/SCTP Collegiate Clay Target Championship, which took place at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas, from March 17-22.

“Making the podium at nationals is always an accomplishment,” said head shotgun coach Jordan Hintz. “A lot has to go right at an event this long with so many disciplines. I’m so proud of all our athletes, especially the seniors and freshmen, even if the outcome was not quite what we wanted. We’ll be back next year and hungrier than ever.”

In American Skeet, Hillsdale athletes broke 497/500 targets, earning first place in Division II and the highest score of any team in attendance, regardless of division. In Skeet Doubles, the team broke 485/500 targets, once again earning the highest score in any division and first place in Division II. The team finished eighth in American Trap, fifth in Trap Doubles, fifth in Super Sporting, and fifth in Sporting Clays. Overall, the team came in third for Division II, breaking 2822/3000 targets.

Five team members were named All-Americans for their individual performances: Madeline Corbin ‘27, Joshua Corbin ‘25, Jordan Sapp ‘26, Luke Johnson ‘27, and Davis Hay ‘26.

Sapp won the Men’s Combined Skeet trophy, breaking 199/200 targets. He also came in second place in A Class Men’s Super Sporting.

Madeline Corbin won the Women’s Combined Skeet trophy, breaking 196/200 targets. She also won second place in both AA Class Women’s American Skeet and AA Class American Trap as well as first place in AA Class Women’s Skeet Doubles.

Joshua Corbin came in first in both AA Class Sporting Clays and AA Class Men’s Super Sporting.

Taylor Dale ‘28 came in second place in A Class Women’s American Skeet, and Marin McKinney ‘28 came in first in A Class Women’s Skeet Doubles.

Hillsdale College has partnered with the White House Salute to America 250 Task Force and the U.S. Department of Education to produce a new educational video series titled “The Story of America.” The series explores the story of America’s founding, from the first shots at Lexington and Concord to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of a new republic. The most recent video in the series, “The Formation of the Army” premiered on June 12.

The video features Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth discussing the establishment of America’s Continental Army—a unification of the states in their fight for liberty.

“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Army—a legacy born in turmoil, uncertainty, and nearly insurmountable odds,” Hegseth said. “Two and a half centuries ago, thousands of citizen soldiers answered freedom’s call. At a moment when tyranny tried to dim the spirit of an emerging nation, our first heroes forged an institution whose strength, sacrifice, and enduring resolve have come to define our republic.”

Upcoming lectures include historian and author Walter R. Borneman’s account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, scheduled for release on June 17, the 250th anniversary of the battle; Dr. Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, on the “Meaning and Structure of the Declaration”,  Lee Habeeb, host of “Our American Stories,” on the founding statesmanship of John Adams; and Dr. Mark David Hall, professor at Regent University’s Robertson School of Government, on the role of religion in the American founding.

Dr. Arnn introduced the series in April with an explanation of the importance of celebrating America’s founding.

“The Declaration of Independence, America’s founding document, is the finest political statement of hope and liberty in history,” said Dr. Arnn. “Next year it, and our country, will become 250 years old. President Trump and Secretary McMahon are determined to help all Americans remember, understand, and celebrate this unprecedented milestone. They have asked us to help mark the anniversary with fitting explanations of the history and meaning of the document in text, audio, and video. The founders of Hillsdale College joined the cause of Abraham Lincoln in council rooms and on battlefields to rededicate the nation to the Declaration. We are proud of the President and the Secretary for their respect for the Declaration and their determination to honor it, and proud to give every assistance in our power.”

Dr. Wilfred McClay, the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College, followed with a video commemorating the 250th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord. The video is available here.

“The deeds of Lexington and Concord exemplify enduring qualities of the character of the American people that will continue to manifest themselves, if we have the willingness to call on those memories, the capacity to respond to darkness with light, to peril with energy and determination, buoyed by the knowledge that others have done these things before us, and in a sense, for us,” McClay said. “What was done before can be done again.”

To watch these and future lectures, click here.

If you’re looking for a strategic way to support the mission of Hillsdale College—and enjoy significant tax benefits in the process—a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA may be just the answer.

As one generous Hillsdale supporter recently put it:

“I love knowing that when I give directly from my IRA to Hillsdale College, not only did I put money into my IRA tax free when I was working, and not only did it grow tax free all this time, but now I can give it tax free to the best college in the country, and as a 501(c)(3) they don’t pay a penny of tax on it either. That’s a WIN four times over!”

When you give directly from your IRA to Hillsdale College, you’re helping to educate principled leaders, publish Imprimis to millions of homes, provide free online courses to Americans across the country, and support K-12 classical education—all without ONE PENNY of government funding.

Here’s how a QCD works:

• You must be 70½ or older to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution.
• You may transfer up to $108,000 per year (or $216,000 for married couples) to qualified institutions like Hillsdale.
• The gift must be made directly from your IRA to Hillsdale College.
• The amount you give does not count as taxable income, which may reduce your overall tax burden—even if you don’t itemize.
• If you are 73 or older, your QCD counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

Put simply, this is a smart, impactful way to give. You use pre-tax dollars that have grown tax-free and can now support one of the most important institutions in American life—without paying taxes on the gift and without triggering income tax liability.

Whether you’re passionate about restoring constitutional government, equipping young people with a classical education, or defending liberty through truth-centered teaching, a QCD helps you make an immediate and lasting impact.

Together, we can preserve the principles that made America great and keep Hillsdale College free and flourishing for generations to come.

You can download a sample letter for your IRA administrator here to start the distribution process. You can also request a qualified charitable distribution through your online account portal.

Please note—if you are still working and contributing to a retirement account, this gift could impact your taxable income. Please consult a qualified advisor before making a gift.

You can contact us for more information, and we would be happy to help.