The Lore Kephart '86 Distinguished Historians Lecture Series Introduces Dr. Isabel Hull and Thoughts on the First World War

It has been my privilege, through the years, to share word of the annual lecture series created by my father and Villanova University in memory of my mother, Lore Kephart. My mother was, herself, a distinguished woman—not just a graduate of Villanova and a writer, but a woman of great intelligence and grace who also (with enviable ease) served dinners no one who ever ate them will forget.

My mother would have deeply appreciated the time that the Villanova team, together with my father, put into selecting Dr. Isabel V. Hull, Stambaugh Professor of History at Cornell University, as this year's honored guest. Dr. Hull has two degrees from Yale University in History, as well as an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. At Cornell she teaches courses with titles like "The International Laws of War," "The First World War: Causes, Conduct, Consequences," and "History of Liberalism." She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a John Guggenheim Fellow, and an Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung Research Fellow.

This year Dr. Hull published her new book, A Scrap of Paper: Breaking and Making International Law in the First World War, which Samuel Moyn, writing in the Wall Street Journal, wrote: "is a strong demonstration of the worth of international law and the laws of war in particular, and vindicates Ms. Hull's standing as one of our greatest historians of modern European politics."

It is this book that will form the basis of Dr. Hull's talk at Villanova University on October 9, starting at 7 o'clock. The event is free and open to the public. The Kephart family and Villanova University extend a warm invitation.