Lectures and Symposia

Allan Goodman, President of the Institute of International Education, addressed the College as part of its 2011 Commencement exercises. Mr. Goodman also received an honorary degree from the College.

Jon Meacham, Editor of Newsweek and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, addressed the College as part of its 2010 Commencement exercises. Mr. Meacham also received an honorary degree from the College.

CNN Chief Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, on behalf of The International Women's Media Foundation, addressed the College as part of its 2009 Commencement exercises. Ms. Amanpour also received an honorary degree from the College.

Kwame Anthony Appiah, novelist, social theorist, and professor of philosophy at Princeton University, addressed the College as part of its 2008 Commencement exercises. Mr. Appiah also received an honorary degree from the College.

R. Nicholas Burns, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, addressed the College as part of its 2007 Commencement exercises. Mr. Burns also received an honorary degree from the College.

The Hon. John E. Jones III (Class of 1977), U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, addressed the College as part of its 2006 Commencement exercises. Judge Jones also received an honorary degree from the College.

The general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, spoke at the Baccalaureate service during commencement weekend for the 1983-1984 academic year.

Vice president for student development April Vari, '82, presented the results of a Quality of Student Life Study over breakfast during Homecoming and Family Weekend.  The study found a need for improvements in non-academic buildings, specifically the HUB, residence halls, and sports facilities.

The College celebrates Founders' Day with a convocation address, a grave-decorating ceremony, an open discussion on the works of Ernest Hemingway, and a panel discussion titled "The Role of America in International Affairs."

Edwin S. Stuart, Governor of Pennsylvania, addresses the College for the 125th annual William Penn Memorial Day.

Dr. Philip Betancourt, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Art History and Archeology at Temple University, gave a lecture in the Stern Center Great Hall titled "Excavating the Earliest copper Smelting Workshop on Crete". The lecture looked at the how the Bronze Age economy of Minoan Crete, based on the manufacturing of copper and bronze goods, began, based on evidence found in the Chrysokamino copper smelting workshop in northeast Crete (3000-2000 BC). The lecture was part of the program for the dedication of the W.M.