Previous Lectures

April 28, 2020 • by Emily Johnston

The University Lectures was created through, and is supported by, the generosity of alumnus Robert B. Menschel ’51.
The cross-disciplinary series brings to Syracuse University notable guest speakers of exceptional accomplishment who share their diverse global experiences and perspectives.

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2020-2021

Spring 2021- Misty Copeland, Nyle DiMarco, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham

2020 Fall Line Up

Fall 2020- Thom Filicia, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Wilmer Valderrama.

2019 – 2020

UL 2020 Line Up — Jelani Cobb, Daniel Folkman, Erin Miller, Julia Haber, Michelle Schenandoah, Marcus Solis, Kelsey Davis, Bettina Love, Admiral James G. Stavridis USN (RET.)

2018 – 2019

201819 — George Saunders, Robert Shetterly, Margaret Atwood, Trevor Noah, Nina Totenberg, Lynn Conway and Martin S. Indyk.

2017 – 2018

201718 — Soledad O’Brien, David Greene, Hasan Minhaj, Jill Lepore, Vijay Kumar, Maureen Dowd, Joy Reid and Rick Fedrizzi.

2016 – 2017

201617 — Sonia Nazario, Brandon Stanton, Jhumpa Lahiri, James Corner, Lynsey Addario and Bre Pettis.

2015 – 2016

201516 — Sarah Koenig, Mary Roach, Don Garber, Dacher Keltner, Naomi Klein, Ross Douthat, Charles Blow, Cheryl Strayed and Leon Fleisher.

2014 – 2015

201415 — Annie Griffiths, Laurel J. Richie, Andreas Weigend, Barry Scheck, Carrie Mae Weems, Eve Ensler and Van Jones.

2013 – 2014

201314 — Diane Ravitch, Anna Deavere Smith, Roz Chast, Chris Hayes, Sen. George J. Mitchell, Billy Collins, Eric Liu and Tony Kushner.

2012 – 2013

201213 — David Henry Hwang, Jim Richardson, Conor Grennan, Roz Savage, Marion Nestle, Ron Brownstein and Bill McKibben.

2011 – 2012

201112 — Terry Tempest Williams, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Franzen, Bob Herbert, Moira Gunn, David Sedaris, Katrina Vanden Heuvel and Maria Hinojosa.

2010 – 2011

201011 — Maude Barlow, Karen Tse, James Balog, Eric Schlosser, Bernard Amadei, Nicholas D. Kristof, Randy Cohen, Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Majora Carter.

2009 – 2010

200910 — Annie Leibovitz, Seamus Heaney, Marian Wright Edelman, Scott Simon, Alex Steffen, Muhammad Yunus, Ira Glass, John Hendricks, Khaled Hosseini and Firoozeh Dumas.

2008 – 2009

200809 — Robert Ballard, Janine Benyus, Shen Wei, Eloy Rodriguez, James Anderson, William Trent, James Conlon, Patricia Williams, Fred Barnes and Ishmael Beah.

2007 – 2008

200708 — Eboo Patel, Robert Satloff, Marjorie Hill, Tracy Kidder, Judy Wicks, Alice Waters and Carl Schramm.

2006 – 2007

200607 — Midori, Norman Ornstein, Khaled Abou El Fadl, Dr. Wangari Maathai, Ned Kahn and Al Gore.

2005 – 2006

200506 — Luis Rodriguez, Wilma Mankiller, Henry Petroski, William Schulz, Anne Garrels, William H. Foege and George C. Wolfe.

2004 – 2005

200405 — Robert Egger, Maya Lin, Paul Goldberger, Neil deGrasse Tyson, P.J. O’Rourke and Tobias Wolff.

2003 – 2004

200304 — Rita Hauser, Denyce Graves, Meave Leakey, Garrison Keillor, Robert Kennedy Jr., Bruce Fowle and Morris Dees.

2002 – 2003

200203 — Carlos Fuentes, Daniel Goleman, August Wilson, Joshua Bell, David Satcher, Robert Sapolsky, Rem Koolhaas, Shibley Telhami, Mario Garcia, Betty Williams, Jody Williams and William Safire.

2001 – 2002

200102 — Robert Hass, George McGovern, Richard Leakey, Bruce Mau, Salman Rushdie, David McCullough, Barry Diller, Susan Taylor, Thomas Krens, Juan Williams, Dr. Steven Pinker and Sen. George J. Mitchell.