Trailblazing scientists, heralded historians and influential leaders in higher education, business and law are set to visit UGA this spring as part of the Signature Lecture series.
“The University of Georgia is proud to have truly distinguished speakers addressing our students,” said Meg Amstutz, associate provost for academic programs. “The Signature Lecture Series highlights a variety of topics across the disciplines. By announcing this series at the beginning of each semester, we hope that UGA students, faculty and staff will mark their calendars in advance to attend and explore new topics of interest.”
UGA’s Signature Lecture series is in its second year. The designation is given by the Office of Academic Programs to events featuring speakers with broad, multidisciplinary appeal and compelling bodies of work.
Many of the lectures are supported by endowments, while others honor notable figures and milestones in the university’s history.
Ken Kendrick, managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, opened the lecture series Jan. 22. The remaining lectures in the lineup include:
• Founders Day Lecture—Thomas C. Reeves, UGA professor emeritus, will speak Jan. 27 at 1:30 p.m. in the Chapel.
• Sibley Lecture—David B. Wilkins, vice dean for global initiatives in the legal profession, director of the Center on the Legal Profession and Lester Kissel Professor of Law at Harvard University will discuss “The Accountants are Coming-Again!: The Rise and Transformation of the Big 4 Accountancy Firms and What it Means for the Global Market for Legal Services.” The lecture will take place Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m. in the Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom of Hirsch Hall.
• Holmes-Hunter Lecture—Sanford Bishop, U.S. Congressman representing Georgia’s 2nd District, will speak Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. in the Chapel.
• Global Georgia Initiative Series—William R. Ferris, the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will discuss “The Storied South: Voices of Writers and Artists” Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. in the Griffith Auditorium of the Georgia Museum of Art.
• Donald L. Hollowell Lecture—Tomiko Brown-Nagin, the Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law and professor of history at Harvard University, will discuss “ ‘The Civil Rights Queen’: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Racial and Gender Equality in America” March 17 at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre.
• George H. Boyd Distinguished Lecture—Richard J. Roberts, chief scientific officer of New England BioLabs, will give the lecture “Exploring Bacterial Methylomes” March 22 at 3:30 p.m. in Masters Hall of the Georgia Center.
• Louise McBee Lecture—Earl Lewis, president of the Andrew Mellon Foundation, will speak March 24 at 11 a.m. in the Chapel.
• Mary Frances Early Lecture—Johnnetta B. Cole, director of the National Museum of African Art, will discuss “The Case for Diversity and Inclusion in American Higher Education” March 29 at 3 p.m. in Mahler Hall of the Georgia Center.
• Women’s History Month Lecture—Leah Ward Sears, former Georgia Supreme Court chief justice, will give the keynote address for Women’s History Month March 31 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.
• Sponsored Lecture—Tess Davis, an affiliate researcher at the University of Glasgow, will discuss “Tomb Raiders and Terrorist Financing: Cutting off the Islamic State’s Illicit Traffic in ‘Blood Antiquities’ ” April 20 at 4:30 p.m. in the Griffith Auditorium of the Georgia Museum of Art.
• Joe L. Key Symposium—David Baulcombe, Royal Society Research Professor and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, will speak May 12 at 8:30 a.m. in the Griffith Auditorium of the Georgia Museum of Art.