The history of the Ubben Lecture Series includes 39 years of speeches and class visits from some of the world's most recognized scholars, leaders and artists, with 120 programs presented since 1986.
Ubben Lecture Series Archives 1986-2025
Brad Stevens
President of basketball operations, Boston Celtics March 20, 2023
Maria Ressa
Nobel Prize Recipient November 2, 2022
Tamika Catchings
Olympian & Basketball Hall of Famer November 22, 2021
Ken Jennings
Jeopardy! Champion and Author February 25, 2020
Condoleezza Rice
Educator, Author, Former US Secretary of State October 8, 2019
John Kasich Jr.
Former Ohio Governor & Congressman, Author & Presidential Candidate January 31, 2019
Juan Manuel Santos
Former Colombian President, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient October 22, 2018
Jenna Fischer
Award-Winning Actress (The Office) & Author April 17, 2018
David Hanson & Sophia
CEO of Hanson Robotics & His Creation February 28, 2018
Bill Rasmussen '54
Founder of ESPN, Entrepreneur November 8, 2017
Malala Yousafzai
Activist, Author & Nobel Peace Prize Recipient September 4, 2017
David Cameron
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom December 8, 2016
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. '57
Civil Rights Legend & Presidential Adviser October 29, 2016
Leslie Odom Jr.
Tony Award-Winning Hamilton Actor September 20, 2016
Arne Duncan
Former US Secretary of Education April 21, 2016
Douglas Hallward-Driemeier '89
Attorney, Supreme Court Advocate October 26, 2015
Yeonmi Park
North Korean Defector & Human Rights Activist October 5, 2015
Andrew Luck
National Football League Quarterback April 24, 2015
Dan Quayle '69
The 44th Vice President of the United States, Chairman of Cerberus Global Investments March 31, 2015
Piper Kerman
Author, Orange Is the New Black February 4, 2015
Jimmy Kimmel
Host and Executive Producer, Jimmy Kimmel Live! November 8, 2014
David Brooks
New York Times Columnist and Author October 4, 2014
Michio Kaku
Theoretical Physicist and Author May 5, 2014
Martin Luther King III
Human Rights Advocate and Community Activist November 21, 2013
Bret Baier '92
Fox News Channel Anchor October 12, 2013
Ron Paul
Three-Time Presidential Candidate and Former Congressman September 10, 2013
Jane Goodall
Primatologist, Ethologist, Anthropologist and UN Messenger of Peace April 17, 2013
Carl Bernstein
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist and Author February 13, 2013
Candy Crowley
CNN Chief Political Correspondent September 25, 2012
Leymah Gbowee
Activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient February 15, 2012
Bill Clinton
The 42nd President of the United States, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation November 18, 2011
Jimmy Wales and Nicholas Carr
Wikipedia Founder; Author of The Shallows March 30, 2011
Lee Hamilton '52
Former Congressman and Veteran Statesman March 15, 2011
Oscar Arias
Former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient December 8, 2010
Rebecca Skloot
Author, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks September 9, 2010
F.W. de Klerk
Former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Winner May 7, 2010
Jason Reitman
Award-Winning Director and Screenwriter March 15, 2010
Steven Levitt
Economist and Co-Author of SuperFreakonomics November 30, 2009
Howard Dean and Karl Rove
Former Governor and DNC Chair; Former Senior Adviser to President George W. Bush September 11, 2009
Jane Pauley
Award-Winning Journalist April 17, 2009
Todd Rundgren
Musician, Producer and Technology Pioneer April 8, 2009
David Plouffe
Obama 2008 Campaign Manager February 2, 2009
Greg Mortenson
Author of Three Cups of Tea November 13, 2008
Tony Blair
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom March 3, 2008
Frank Warren
PostSecret Founder November 26, 2007
Ralph Nader
Consumer Advocate & Presidential Candidate September 27, 2007
Jim Alling '83
President, Starbucks USA March 13, 2007
Mitch Albom
Bestselling Author and Sportswriter November 13, 2006
E.O. Wilson
Biologist and Pulitzer-Prize Winning Author November 8, 2006
Charles Fishman
Author, The Wal-Mart Effect April 18, 2006
Mikhail Gorbachev
Former Soviet Leader and Nobel Laureate October 27, 2005
Naomi Wolf
Author and Feminist September 21, 2005
Paul Rusesabagina
Real-Life Hero of Hotel Rwanda April 25, 2005
Liz Murray
"Homeless to Harvard" April 6, 2005
Peyton Manning
2003 National Football League Co-MVP October 26, 2004
Sen. Richard G. Lugar
Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 25, 2004
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III
Former Presidential Envoy to Iraq September 16, 2004
William S. Cohen
Former Defense Secretary, Senator & Congressman April 22, 2004
Eric Schlosser
Author and Investigative Journalist November 11, 2003
Paul A. Volcker
Former Federal Reserve Chairman October 8, 2003
Gen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.)
Presidential Candidate and Military Analyst September 23, 2003
Spike Lee
Director, Producer and Writer April 3, 2003
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield
Founders of "Ben & Jerry's" Ice Cream November 18, 2002
Mike Krzyzewski
Head Basketball Coach, Duke University September 12, 2002
Harry Belafonte
Entertainer and Human Rights Activist September 7, 2002
David McCullough
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author, Historian and Television Host March 18, 2002
Robert Gates
Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency December 3, 2001
Robert H. Waterston, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of the Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University November 15, 2001
John Major
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom October 29, 2001
Burton L. Gerber
Retired CIA Officer March 22, 2001
Norman J. Ornstein
Author, Columnist and CBS Election Analyst November 16, 2000
Samuel E. Mann
Methodist Minister, Human Rights Spokesman November 13, 2000
William J. Bennett
Former US Secretary of Education March 2, 2000
Andrew Young
Former UN Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor March 2, 2000
Julian Bond
NAACP Chairman, Civil Rights and Peace Activist February 29, 2000
Oliver Sacks
Neurologist and Author, Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat October 28, 1999
Ferid Murad '58
1998 Nobel Laureate in Medicine April 23, 1999
George Gilder
Economist, Technology Consultant and Commentator April 16, 1999
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian and Bestselling Author and Commentator February 12, 1999
Alan Simpson
Retired US Senator, Attorney and Author November 6, 1998
David R. Gergen
Presidential Advisor, Journalist and Political Commentator October 14, 1998
Sam Donaldson
Correspondent, ABC News May 8, 1998
Seymour Hersh
Pulitzer Prize-Winner and Author, The Dark Side of Camelot December 9, 1997
Jonathan Kozol
Educator, Writer and Activist November 12, 1997
Gloria Borger
Columnist, US News and World Report, and CBS News Analyst November 5, 1997
Christopher Edley, Jr.
Senior Adviser to President Clinton and Author November 5, 1997
Gwen Ifill
Correspondent, NBC News October 28, 1997
Roger Wilkins
Educator, Writer, NPR Commentator and Activist October 14, 1997
Bill Bradley
Former US Senator and Basketball Hall of Famer September 10, 1997
Benazir Bhutto
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan May 7, 1997
Sister Helen Prejean
Prison Activist and Author of Dead Man Walking April 30, 1997
Dr. David Ho
TIME's 1996 Person of the Year, AIDS Researcher April 16, 1997
Shimon Peres
Former Prime Minister of Israel and 1994 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient November 11, 1996
H. Ross Perot
Business Executive and Presidential Candidate April 29, 1996
Barbara Bush
Former First Lady March 20, 1996
James Lovell
Former Astronaut and Apollo 13 Commander December 1, 1995
Bob Woodward
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Assistant Managing Editor, The Washington Post December 2, 1994
General Colin Powell (Ret.)
Former Chairman, US Joint Chiefs of Staff November 2, 1994
Lynne Cheney
Former Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities October 7, 1994
Ken Burns
Emmy Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker April 8, 1994
George Will
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist, Newsweek & The Washington Post March 4, 1994
Allen Neuharth
Founder, USA Today December 3, 1993
Brian Mulroney
Former Prime Minister of Canada November 18, 1993
David S. Broder
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Political Commentator November 12, 1993
Paul Tsongas
Former US Senator and Presidential Candidate April 30, 1993
Carl Rowan
Journalist and Author April 6, 1993
Leon Lederman
Physicist and Nobel Laureate April 2, 1993
Tom Wicker
Author, Commentator and Former New York Times Columnist March 12, 1993
Jesse Jackson
Civil Rights Leader and Two-Time Presidential Candidate December 3, 1992
William J. Bennett
Former US Secretary of Education September 30, 1992
Margaret Thatcher
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom April 7, 1992
David R. Brower
Environmentalist January 25, 1991
Willy Brandt
Former Chancellor of West Germany and Nobel Peace Prize Winner November 2, 1990
Lester C. Thurow
Economist and Author March 9, 1990
Elie Wiesel
Author and Nobel Peace Prize Winner September 21, 1989
William J. Bennett
Former US Secretary of Education October 6, 1988
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Former National Security Adviser March 4, 1988
Mary Frances Berry
Historian and Member of the US Commission on Civil Rights November 6, 1987
Allan Bloom
Philosopher and Author, Closing of the American Mind September 11, 1987
