BOBBY BURCHFIELD’S 2025 YEAR END REPORT

2025 was a terrific year!

         The highlight of the year was Taylor’s graduation magna cum laude on May 19 from Northwestern University Medical School and receipt of her Master’s Degree in Medical Humanities and Bioethics. Except for one of her cousins in New Zealand and another attending to a medical issue in Minnesota, all her relatives from both sides of the family came to Chicago, as did several of her high school friends, for the graduation ceremony and the congratulatory dinner at the Museum of Modern Art in Chicago after the ceremony. The Sunday before the graduation ceremony, our group attended the White Sox at Cubs game, viewing from the rooftop across the street from Wrigley field.

         The celebration of graduation continued with Taylor’s and my trip to Ireland from Saturday June 7 to Sunday June 15. We spent three days in Dublin, visiting the National Museum, the Irish Writer’s Museum, the Guiness Brewery, and the Jameson visitor’s center.  On Wednesday June 11 we rented a car and drove over to Howth, a small village east of Dublin. We did an ambitious hike around the cliffs, had a late lunch, and then drove across the country (on the left had side of the road!) to Galway. We spent two days in Galway (June 11-June 12), then drove on June 13 to the Cliffs of Mohr, which were spectacular. We spent the night of Friday June 13 at the beautiful and historic Dromoland Castle. On Saturday June 14, we spent much of the day at the castle and then drove back to Dublin for our flight home on Sunday. The entire trip was extraordinary, but my very favorite time was spending a total of over 10 hours in the car with Taylor, talking about and listening to music (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, the Beach Boys—Brian Wilson passed away during the trip—and others), her upcoming residency and career, and many other topics.

         During January and February, for the fourth year, I taught my seminar entitled “Fundamentals of Free Speech as Applied to Contemporary Issues” at The George Washington University Law School. In addition, I accepted an invitation to teach a five session seminar on free speech during March and April, with more philosophy and less case law, to the undergraduate Capitalism Scholars at the Wake Forest University School of Business in Winston-Salem.

         My speaking schedule during the year was also busy and fun. The highlight was on May 3, when I was the commencement speaker at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, where my dad, my grandfather, and many relatives attended. On January 20, at the invitation of my former colleague Micheline Tang, I spoke to her group, “The Wise Ones,” an organization of public relations professionals, at the Cornell Club in New York on the issue of free speech. On August 15, I spoke at the Republican National Lawyers Association Annual Conference in Nashville on the 2000 Florida Recount. I was delighted to speak on September 24 at the investiture of Professor Mary Rose Papindrea as the first Burchfield Professor of First Amendment and Free Speech Law at The GW Law School. And on November 21 I spoke on the topic of free speech to the undergraduate students in the Wake Forest in Washington Program.

         As of July 1, I became a non-voting life trustee at Wake Forest. Although I completed my terms as trustee in June 2024, I was delighted to learn that, in April 2025, the Wake Forest Board of Trustees approved a new speech policy, which I had advocated for several years and for which I provided significant input. The policy parallels the Chicago Statement of Free Speech and includes a strong provision on institutional neutrality.

         Throughout the year, I also continued my service as Chair of the boards of One Nation, Crossroads GPS, The Ulysses S. Grant Institute for the Study of Democracy, and Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections. My service on the board of the National Capital Area Council of Scouting USA ended after four years, during which the Scouting organization underwent some dramatic changes. 

         My high school buddies Chip Deale and Scott Tobin hosted our almost annual Mancation gathering at Scott’s house in Blowing Rock from June 19-22. Great fun as always.

         Finally, on September 25, the day after the investiture of Professor Papandrea, I checked into the INOVA Fairfax Thoracic Surgery Unit and underwent a quadruple heart bypass. The surgery, inpatient stay, and subsequent recovery could not have been smoother. Although I am an impatient patient, eager to return to my pre-surgery strength and stamina, by any reasonable measure the procedure was a remarkable success. I am very blessed. 

         When I was 70, it was a very good year . . .