The Buckley Institute hosted our Fifteenth Annual Conference on Friday, November 14, 2025. This year’s conference, “The Future of American Conservatism: Buckley’s Centennial and Beyond,” recognizes the 100th anniversary of Buckley’s birth and will highlight his lasting impact on America’s conservative movement.
The Buckley Institute welcomed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ’01 as our keynote speaker!
In addition to the incredible keynote, we were excited to have an all-star lineup of speakers throughout the day:
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Governor Ron Desantis ’01
A native Floridian with blue-collar roots, Governor DeSantis grew up in Dunedin and worked his way through Yale University, where he was the captain of the varsity baseball team, and graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he earned a commission in the U.S. Navy as a JAG officer. He deployed to Iraq in support of the SEAL mission in Fallujah, Ramadi, and the rest of the Al Anbar province.
In 2018, Ron DeSantis was elected the 46th Governor of Florida. As Governor, he has led across a wide range of issues by successfully navigating Florida through the COVID pandemic, protecting Floridians from the harmful impacts of illegal immigration, expanding school choice, promoting public safety (with a record 50-year crime low in the state), keeping Florida’s economy strong, ensuring road improvement projects are fully funded and ahead of schedule, and making historic investments in environmental conservation and stewardship.
Thanks to the Governor’s efforts, Florida ranks #1 for economy (among all 50 states); for education (two out of the last three years); for higher education (ten years in a row); for attracting and developing a talented workforce; for parental empowerment and educational freedom; for tourism and net in-migration; and for law enforcement recruiting and support.
Governor DeSantis is married to Casey DeSantis, an Emmy Award-winning television anchor. Together, they’re the proud parents of their daughters, Madison and Mamie, and their son, Mason.
