Colleges and universities often try to create an ideal academic environment by isolating themselves from the outside world. Grinnell College, however, brings the outside world and its distinguished public figures to students to enhance its academic environment.

Throughout its history, Grinnell has emphasized the importance of human rights and social progress, and encouraged discussion of the public policy affecting both. Grinnell was a center of abolitionist activity in the 1850s and one of the first colleges in the nation to admit women to the bachelor of arts degree. In the post-Civil War years, Grinnell was the focal point of the Midwestern Social Gospel Movement that produced major administrators of the New Deal, like Harry Hopkins, Chesteer Davis, Hallie Flanagan Davis, Florence Kerr, and Paul Appleby--all Grinnell alumni who turned the ideals of a social movement into political action.

In more recent times, Grinnell's Program in Practical Political Education sponsored visits by nationally prominent figures like Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Hubert Humphrey, Barry Goldwater, Mark Hatfield, and Julian Bond.

In the spirit of this tradition, the Grinnell College Board of Trustees in 1979 established the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations, and Human Rights. The program, supported by a $1 million endowment, honors the Rosenfield family, Iowa, and national leaders in promoting responsible and progressive action in all three of these program areas. The program is a particular tribute to college trustee Joseph Rosenfield '25, one of the most generous supporters and imaginative planners in Grinnell history.

The program's most visible program is its sponsorship of campus visits by distinguished scholars, public servants, and political and social commentators. These visits usually include a public lecture, meetings with classes, and a range of opportunities for individual interaction with students.

For nearly 20 years, the program has also sponsored many conferences and symposia. These typically last two to four days and include speakers, panel discussions, and opportunities for conversation at informal gatherings.

The Rosenfield Program has sponsored visits by more than 300 lecturers, including:

Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, retired diplomat George Kennan, Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, civil rights leader Eleanor Holmes Norton, the late leader of the United Farm Workers Cesar Chavez, former West German finance minister Hans Apel, Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman, former French Defense Minister Alain Richard, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, former President of the United Kingdom Social Democratic Party Shirley Williams , former Vice President of the United Auto Workers Irving Bluestone, former Danish Minister of Justice Erling Olsen, former Soviet Union Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnyk, former Surgeon General and Nobel Prize Winner C. Everett Koop, former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias , President of ACLU Nadine Strossen, former United States Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, former Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, and Pulitzer Prize-winner newspaper journalists Tony Horwitz, David Shipler , and David Shribman.

For over 20 years the Rosenfield Program has sponsored many conferences and symposia. Typically, four symposia are scheduled each year. These usually last two to three days and include speakers, panel discussions, and opportunities for individuals interaction with students.

Recent symposia titles are:

"The U.S. Media, Government and Politics"
"Marijuana Legalization: The next step or one step too far?"
"Forgotten Terrains: Earth's Neglected Temperate and Subtropical Forests"
Beyond Colonization and Apartheid: Facing the Future in South Africa"
"Crime and Punishment: Incarceration in the United States"
"Divided Land and Divided Hearts: The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East"
"The State of Democracy in the 2004 World"

The program's director, Sarah J. Purcell '92, Associate Professor of History, earned her B.A. degree from Grinnell College and her A. M. and Ph.D. degrees from Brown Univeristy. Planning is conducted jointly by the director and the Rosenfield Program Committee, which consists of a mixture of faculty and students.