Search For Lectures

Confronting Cancer in College
6:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Outspoken throughout his battle with testicular cancer, Iowa State Athletics Director Jamie Pollard will share his message of encouragement and the importance of the support he received from the community through his treatment. Then, hear from the American Cancer Society On Campus student group as they share stories and resources related to personal or familial cancer experiences.This event will be recorded and available for two weeks on the Lectures website at https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/recordings/available-recordings

Pathways to Peace: Drawing from the Experiences of Palestinian Refugees
6:00 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - This talk reflects on the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of Palestinian refugees, who have been marginalized in international attempts to resolve the conflict. So far, these international attempts, which have largely focused on a two-state solution have been unsuccessful. Drawing on the experiences of Palestinian refugees who have been at the center of the research Dr. Gabiam has conducted over the last 20 years, she reflects on the challenges and possibilities that emerge from moving beyond a nationalist and state-centric approach to achieving peace in the Middle East.Nell Gabiam is Associate Professor of anthropology and political science and Co-Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Minor program at Iowa State University. She received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008. She is the author of The Politics of Suffering: Syria’s Palestinian Refugee Camps (2016, Indiana University Press). She is currently working on her second book, which is the result of fieldwork conducted primarily in Lebanon, Turkey, France, Germany, and Sweden. Her second book project examines how mass displacement from Syria as a result of the ongoing war in that country has affected Palestinian identity and political claims.This lecture will be recorded and available to view 24-36 hours after the lecture's conclusion on the Available Recordings page.

Brothers, Unlimited
6:00 PM – 3560 Memorial Union - Ben Jealous is an American civil rights leader, activist, and politician who is the seventh executive director of the Sierra Club, one of the largest and most influential environmental organizations in the United States. With a background in social justice advocacy, Ben brings a unique perspective to his role, focusing on issues of environmental justice, climate change, and conservation. Before leading the Sierra Club, he served as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP, where he spearheaded campaigns to advance civil rights, voting rights, and criminal justice reform. Ben is a passionate advocate for marginalized communities and has dedicated his career to fighting for equality, sustainability, and a healthier planet for future generations.Ben is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a The New York Times bestselling author of Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding, and his latest book is Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing. During his term at the NAACP, Ben created pathbreaking partnerships with conservative leaders and Republican governors to help shrink America's prison system as well as expand voting rights and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people. In 2013, The Washington Post hailed him as "one of the nation's most prominent civil rights leaders." He was previously the executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, an organization of more than 200 historically black-owned newspapers.A former Rhodes Scholar, Ben is a graduate of Columbia and Oxford universities and a former visiting professor at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. He lives on the Chesapeake Bay with his children, Morgan and Jack, and their dog, Charlie.The ISU Book Store will be at the event selling copies of the speaker's book.This lecture will be recorded and will be available to view 24-36 hours to those with an Iowa State login after the conclusion of the event on the Available Recordings website.

Road Deaths & Serious Injuries: A Crisis of Complacency
6:00 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - Road safety is one of the most intractable public health challenges we have faced in the last 100 years. We have come a long way in our understanding of the causes and consequences of road trauma. However, today, many of the challenges we face are no longer technical or scientific. Rather, they are social and political. We know what we need to do, we just don't know how to do it. We will explore how we got to where we are today, and what systems approaches really mean. We will explore the institutional challenges, potential solutions, and what lessons we can learn to improve safety in other sectors.An experienced safety researcher, Dr. Carlyn Muir is an Associate Professor at Monash University Accident Research Centre in Australia. Muir's research portfolio covers a diverse range of injury and violence prevention topics across the safety sciences. She has maintained long-standing research partnerships with emergency service agencies and is currently working on research projects for local police and fire services. Muir also coordinates with the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Violence and Injury Prevention, which focuses on research, advocacy, and capacity building.  

Watergate 50 Years Later: What Have We Learned?
5:30 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Ed Mezvinsky, an Ames native, served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1969 to 1971 and then as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1977, representing Iowa's 1st congressional district.While in Congress, Mezvinsky served on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon in 1974. Mezvinsky attended the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.His Congressional papers are now part of the ISU University Library Collections.

Tribal Forestry and Wildlife Management
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - 2024 Paul L. Errington Memorial LectureDr. Serra Hoagland (Laguna Pueblo) works for the USDA Forest Service Research & Development branch as the National Program Lead for Tribal Research. She focuses on building local, regional and national partnerships with tribes and intertribal organizations, mentoring students in natural resources, and conducting research that is relevant to Native communities. As the first Native American to graduate from Northern Arizona University with a PhD in forestry, Serra studied Mexican spotted owl habitat on tribal and non-tribal lands in south-central New Mexico. She has 8 book publications and 16 peer-reviewed journal articles and most recently was nominated as a Fellow for The Wildlife Society in 2023. In 2020, Dr. Hoagland was nominated for a Professional of the Year Award and was selected as the Most Promising Scientist by the American Indian Science & Engineering Society.This lecture will be recorded and the recording can be viewed approximately 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the lecture on the Available Recordings page.

Daymond John's 5 Shark Points: Fundamentals for Success in Business and Life
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Daymond John has come a long way from taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his mother’s house and moving his business operation into its basement. John is CEO and Founder of FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and a pioneer in the fashion industry with over $6 billion in product sales world-wide. Former President Barack Obama appointed Daymond John a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) to harness his energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad.John is an award-winning entrepreneur and has received 100s of awards including the Brand Week Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and was named #2 on LinkedIn’s Top 20 Voices, a list of the top influencers, who are using their voice to help us analyze today’s changing world of work, navigate our industries, and find balance. Most recently, Real Leaders Magazine named Daymond John one of the Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World in 2023, a list of “real teachers — people who speak from experience.”His marketing strategies and ability to build successful brands have made him a highly influential consultant and motivational speaker today. His marketing firm The Shark Group offers advice on how to effectively communicate to consumers through innovative means and connects brands with the world’s top celebrities for everything from endorsements to product extensions.John is also the author of 6 best-selling books including his latest New York Times best-seller, The Power of Broke (2016) and Rise and Grind (2018). In 2020, John released his fifth book, Powershift, which walks through his tried-and-true process of how to transform any situation, close any deal, and achieve any outcome. John's most recent book, Little Daymond Learns to Earn (2023) is his first for kids, and reached the New York Times and Amazon best-seller list the first week of its release. The book addresses the current void of educating our children about money in a fun and engaging story for parents and kids to connect. John’s mission is to continue challenging the status quo and leave a lasting legacy of inspiring other leaders to do the same.Finally, John is celebrating his 14th season on ABC TV’s critically acclaimed business reality show Shark Tank by renowned producer Mark Burnett, which has reinvigorated entrepreneurship around the world. Shark Tank has now gone on to win five Emmy® in the US and millions of weekly viewers worldwide tune into the show as John demonstrates his marketing prowess and entrepreneurial insights.This lecture will be recorded and available only to those with an iastate.edu email address for two weeks following the conclusion of the event.This event will include a 70-minute lecture followed by a brief book signing.

Under the Influence... of Stress
6:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - As Bill Daniels Professor of Business Ethics and Legal Studies at the University of Denver, Corey Ciocchetti is one of the University’s most popular and highest-rated professors. Corey joined DU after graduating with a law degree from Duke University School of Law, a master's degree in Religious Studies, and two bachelor's degrees in Finance and Economics—summa cum laude—from the University of Denver. Corey is a talented speaker and teacher and has won multiple teaching and speaking awards including the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award and the Joel Goldman Award for most respected speaker on the CAMPUSPEAK roster. In 2023, he was named as one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors in the country. Corey currently teaches business law and ethics classes in a department ranked by the Wall Street Journal and Business Week in the top ten nationwide for producing students with high ethical standards. Corey also speaks to tens of thousands of individuals each year about “authentic success” and living an ethical life and is the author of the book Inspire Integrity: Chase An Authentic Life. Over the past eighteen years, he has spoken to diverse audiences in over 350 cities and 46 states. A Colorado native, Corey resides in Denver with his wife, Jillian, and daughters Sophia and Sydney. This lecture will be recorded and ready to view on the Available Recordings page approximately 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the event.

The Onion: Comedy, Controversy, and the First Amendment
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - A First Amendment Days program.As head writer of satirical site The Onion, Mike Gillis is no stranger to writing and talking about writing with humor and parody. Hear Gillis discuss how the First Amendment protects speech, even when snarky in tone. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Gillis got his start at The Onion writing headlines as a contributor, eventually joining the staff as a writer and working his way up to head writer. His work has also appeared in The New Yorker and across the internet.This lecture will be recorded and available to view within 24-36 hours after its conclusion on the Available Recordings page.

Reclaim Feminism
6:00 PM – Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - This event is free, open to the public, and does not require a ticket or preregistration for entrance.This event will not be recorded or livestreamed.No picket signs, banners, or other materials that could block views or be used as a weapon will be permitted.Riley Gaines graduated from the University of Kentucky where she was a 12x All-American Swimmer. She has made waves for speaking out after tying UPenn’s Lia Thomas, a trans swimmer on the women’s team, at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming Championship. After this experience, Riley began to speak out to challenge the rules of the NCAA, USA Swimming, International Olympic Committee (IOC), and other governing bodies.Riley now works for the Leadership Institute, traveling and speaking in defense of women’s single-sex spaces and has testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House.

A Stolen History: The REAL Story of the Suffrage Movement
5:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner is the Founder/Director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation and teaches in Syracuse University’s Honors Program. Awarded one of the first doctorates in the country for work in women’s studies (UC Santa Cruz) and a founder of one the first college-level women’s studies programs in the United States (CSU Sacramento), Dr. Wagner has taught women’s studies courses for 53 years. This lecture will be recorded and the recording can be viewed approximately 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the lecture on the Available Recordings page.

Our Money and Our Attention: Spending, Investing, and Thriving in the Attention Economy
6:00 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - Financial Literacy Month LectureIn today's world, our attention is a precious commodity, and we find ourselves immersed in what is often termed an "attention economy." With an overwhelming influx of information from various sources such as television, social media, websites, other humans…and even the data that comes from everything from our cars to our smartphones to our refrigerators, our brains are inundated with more data than we can effectively process. The same principles of scarcity that apply to economics also apply to our attention.Navigating this sea of information poses a significant challenge. How do we distinguish between what is relevant and what is not, or between fact and opinion? In this talk, Dr. Chaffin will draw parallels between financial planning and cognitive psychology, outlining how we can live and thrive in this attention economy. Most importantly, we will focus on how we can develop a spending and investing plan for our two most valuable resources: Our money and our attention.Dr. Charles Chaffin’s work encompasses a broad range of fields, from educational and cognitive psychology to financial planning. He has served as the author or lead editor of 7 different books within financial planning and cognitive psychology, helping practitioners become more client-centered and helping individuals and companies address distraction in the workplace.Dr. Chaffin is co-founder of the Psychology of Financial Planning instructional programs, designed to help practitioners better understand the biases, behaviors, and perceptions of their clients. He consults with financial planning firms across various business models to help fine-tune their communication and develop strategies that will help people make better financial decisions. He co-launched the Financial Psychology Inventory, a detailed assessment that can outline and predict client risk tolerance and financial decision-making during market volatility and life events. His Psychology of Financial Planning program has been incorporated into the curriculum of close to 100 colleges and universities in 12 countries.He served as co-Academic Director of the Client Psychology program at The Wharton School as well as Program Lead of the Financial Planning Teaching Seminar at Columbia University. He led research and education activities at CFP Board for close to 12 years. He is also the co-founder of Affirming Advisor™, a first-of-its kind program designed to help advisors and firms better serve LGBTQIA+ clients and allies.He is Professor of Practice in the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University.The ISU Book Store will be at the event selling copies of the speaker's book.This lecture will be recorded and available to view within 24-36 hours after its conclusion on the Available Recordings page.

Natural and Artificial Intelligence: How Rational Are Humans?
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - The 2024 Goldtrap LectureAre humans fundamentally irrational? Is that why so many people commit statistical and logical blunders and fall for fake news, medical quackery, paranormal woo-woo, and conspiracy theories? Is Artificial Intelligence rendering the human mind irrelevant? In this lecture, acclaimed scientist and author Steve Pinker presents an alternative. We humans, after all, have discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives, and discovered the benchmarks for rationality itself. And despite the hype, we are not ready to let AI run simple errands, watch after our babies, or even drive our cars through city streets. Pinker argues that humans think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but we fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning our best thinkers have discovered over the millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and optimal ways to update beliefs and commit to choices individually and with others. Current AI, in the form of deep learning networks and large language models, is yet another tool in the kit of ways we have enhanced out natural intelligence, better in many ways than natural intelligence but worse than others. Another source of irrationality is that the rational pursuit of self-interest, sectarian solidarity, and uplifting mythology by individuals can add up to crippling irrationality in a society. Collective rationality depends on norms that are designed to promote objectivity and truth. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress.Steven Pinker is a cognitive scientist who has been named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. His keynotes have helped millions demystify the science behind human language, thought, and action. Pinker is a Harvard professor, a TED speaker, and a bestselling author, twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Highly respected in the scientific community, his work and opinions are extensively covered in the mainstream media, and have won a wide general audience. In his latest book, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters, Pinker argues that we fail to take advantage of the most powerful tools of reasoning discovered by some of our best thinkers: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book—until now. A native of Montreal, Steven Pinker is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Previously, he taught at Stanford and at MIT. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has won a number of teaching prizes, and his research on visual cognition and the psychology of language has received numerous awards, including the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences.The ISU Book store will be at the event selling copies of the speaker's book.This lecture has been recorded and is available for viewing to those with an ISU login on the Available Recordings page.

Transforming Africa: Navigating the AI Revolution in the African Landscape
7:30 PM – Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - Anicia Peters is the CEO of the National Commission of Research, Science and Technology (NCRST), an adjunct Research Professor at the University of Namibia, and the Presidential Task Force Chairperson on 4IR (2021-2022). She founded the Africa Human Computer Interaction Conference (AfriCHI), serves on the Steering Committee of ACM CHI, and was the Technical Programme Co-Chair for the ACM CHI2023 conference.From 2019 to 2023, she also served as an Editor for the African Scientific Journal in collaboration with Elsevier and the Next Einstein Forum. Anicia received the prestigious 2020 Google Inclusion Award and a research grant from Google AI in 2021. She was a Google scholar in 2012 while at Iowa State University.Anicia completed her PhD in Human Computer Interaction from Iowa State University in 2014 and a MSc degree in 2011, under a Fulbright International Science and Technology PhD Award, a Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Award, and a Google Scholar award. Furthermore, she holds a National Diploma and a B.Tech degree in Information Technology (Bus. Comp.), both with honors (cum laude), from the Namibia University of Science and Technology. She completed a Post-Doc at Oregon State University and worked in Silicon Valley complementing her industry experience in Namibia. With over 30 years of academic, industry, and managerial experience both in Namibia and internationally, she has developed a diverse range of expertise.This lecture is available to view on the Available Recordings page.

The Musical Legacies of Phenomenal Women of Color
7:00 PM – Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall - Enjoy works by phenomenal women of color such as Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and many more; learn about their journeys and the legacies they left behind. About the artist: "A compelling, sparkling virtuoso" (Boston Music Intelligencer), Michelle Cann is in great demand as soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue, and scholar. Last season included concerto performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic among other major symphony orchestras, and this year brings her to the Des Moines Symphony in March. Ms. Cann is Chair of Piano Studies at the Curtis Institute and winner of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence.Pianist Michelle Cann will also be giving a solo Town & Gown recital on Friday, April 12 at 7:30pm. Tickets and program information for this solo recital are available at www.amestownandgown.org Please note: This event will not be recorded.

An Evening with Hertz Farm Management- Emerging Issues in Agriculture
7:00 PM – 127 Curtiss - The Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture was created in memory of the founders of Hertz Farm Management Inc. to inspire generations of industry leaders, research scientists, and young professionals to reach their full potential. Join a panel of Hertz Farm Management leadership for a Q&A style discussion about emerging issues in agriculture, preserving agricultural legacies, developments in agriculture, and questions from you! The panel will include:Chad Hertz, COO Hertz Farm ManagementRandy Hertz, CEO Hertz Farm ManagementJeff Troendle, President Hertz Farm ManagementDoug Hensley, President Hertz Real Estate ServicesThis lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.

Optimism Matters
6:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Barbara Hansen Lecture in Early Childhood DevelopmentSteve Gross, MSW, is a clinical social worker and pioneer in the field of using playful engagement and relationships to overcome the devastating impacts of early childhood trauma. Steve founded Project Joy, a nonprofit organization that used the power of joyful play to heal and strengthen homeless and impoverished children throughout Greater Boston, in 1989. In 2011, Life is Good invited Project Joy, now The Playmaker Project, to be the sole social mission of the brand.Through an outpouring of love, optimism, experience, and expertise, Steve and a trusted team of researchers and colleagues, have spent 30+ years developing the Life is Good Playmaker Project program.Please note: this will be a 60-minute lecture followed by audience Q&A.This lecture is available to watch on the Available Recordings page.

Lifting for the Health of It: Beyond Chalk Dust and Weight Belts
7:00 PM – Gerdin 1148 - Pease Family Scholar in KinesiologyDr. Stuart Phillips is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and a member of the School of Medicine at McMaster University in Canada. He is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health. Dr. Phillips' work centers on the interaction of exercise/physical activity, aging, and nutrition in skeletal muscle and body composition. Dr. Phillips is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). He has 488 research publications, and his Web of Science h-index is 96 (Google Scholar h-index 136). He has been in the top 1% of cross-field (nutrition and physiology) highly-cited scholars globally for six straight years 2018-2023.This lecture was recorded and is available to view on the Available Recordings page.