Search For Lectures

A Land Abroad: Why America Should Care About Russia’s Ongoing Invasion of Ukraine
5:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been devastating. As the war enters its nineteenth month, one-fourth of the country’s total population is displaced, hundreds of thousands have died, and several cities and villages have been destroyed. To date, the United States has sent nearly $60 billion in aid. But why should America, a country thousands of miles away, be concerned about the war? In this lecture series, Mr. Temnycky will discuss Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, the ramifications it has across Europe, and why the United States should continue to support this country.Mark Temnycky is a Ukrainian-American who is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, and an accredited freelance journalist who has been covering Eurasian affairs and European energy security matters for over seven years. He has been published by The New York Times, Forbes, the Daily Mail, The Hill, EUobserver, Kyiv Post, Euromaidan Press, Atlantic Council, and several other American and European news outlets and think tanks. He earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University; a Bachelor of Arts in History, with departmental honors from Le Moyne College; and a Certificate in International Relations from Georgetown University.This lecture was recorded and is available on the Available Recordings page.

Population Health in Rural America: Contemporary Trends, Causes, and Complexities
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - George M. Beal Distinguished Lectureship in Rural SociologyThis event is also offered via livestream. To watch the livestream, click here.The U.S. rural mortality penalty is wide and growing. This talk will present an overview of trends in rural and urban mortality rates since 1990, identify where rates have increased the most, discuss the major causes of death that have contributed to the increasing rural mortality penalty, and discuss some potential explanations for these trends. With this longer-term context in mind, the presentation will move into a discussion of two contemporary population health crises – the drug overdose crisis and COVID-19 – and discuss their differential impacts across the U.S. rural-urban continuum.Shannon Monnat is the Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, Director of the Center for Policy Research, and Professor of Sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Monnat is a demographer and population health scholar whose research examines trends and geographic differences in health and mortality, with a special interest in rural health and health disparities. She is a leading national expert on structural and spatial determinants of drug overdose. Her most recent research has focused on geographic differences in COVID-19 experiences and outcomes. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous book chapters and policy briefs. Her research has been featured in several media outlets, including CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic. Monnat has been the PI or Co-Investigator on projects totaling over $10 million in external research funding, including from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Justice, United States Department of Agriculture, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Institute for New Economic Thinking. She currently leads an NIH-funded project to examine the effects of state’s COVID-19 mitigation policies on working-age adult psychological wellbeing, drug overdose, and suicide.This lecture was recorded and can be viewwed on the Available Recordings page.

City Bird, Country Bird: How Human Activity Affects Predator-Prey Interactions
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - 2023 Paul L. Errington Memorial LectureAmanda D. Rodewald is the Garvin Professor and Senior Director of the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University. Prior to joining Cornell in 2013, she spent 13 years as a professor at Ohio State University. Dr. Rodewald received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from University of Montana, a M.S. in Zoology from University of Arkansas, and a PhD in Ecology from Pennsylvania State University. Her interdisciplinary research integrates population, community, and landscape ecology with conservation biology and sustainability science, and uses community science, big data, and computational modeling to understand and address conservation challenges in temperate and tropical landscapes. Dr. Rodewald also serves on the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Paul L. Errington, quoted by Animal Ecology Today as one of the "four great pioneers of animal ecology", was a professor of wildlife biology at Iowa State University from July, 1932 until his retirement. Dr. Errington's love and understanding of nature is shown in four popular books: Of Men and Marshes, The Red Gods Call, Of Predation and Life, and A Question of Values. A Question of Values is a collection of essays published posthumously in 1987. Paul L. Errington passed along a priceless heritage of conservation wisdom and insight to those who have the opportunity to read what he wrote, who benefit from his skills, and who must continue to question and enlarge upon his findings. On the occasion of the annual Paul L. Errington Memorial Lecture, we recognize and pay tribute to his special qualities as a person and as a scientist.This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.

The State Department: A Nexus of Diplomacy, Economics, and Food Security
5:30 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - Due to the speaker's schedule, this event has been cancelled. Ramin Toloui is the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In this role, Toloui leads the Department’s efforts focused on expanding opportunity for American workers and businesses, deepening cooperation with other countries on shared economic challenges, and leveraging economic tools to advance U.S. national security objectives. Ramin received an A.B. summa cum laude in Economics from Harvard University and an M.Phil in International Relations from Balliol College at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Toloui is an Iowa native. This lecture will be recorded, and the recording link will be added here within 36-48 hours after the lecture has finished.

Removing Landmines, Supporting Farmers: Cultivating Peace Through Agriculture
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - 2023 Norman Borlaug LectureHeidi Kühn is the founder and CEO of Roots of Peace, a humanitarian nonprofit organization that replaces landmines with sustainable agricultural farmland. The organization also trains farmers in modern agricultural practices, from planting and harvesting to marketing through international exports.Kühn, the 2023 World Food Prize Laureate, will be joined in conversation by President Wendy Wintersteen for this lecture.Prior to the Borlaug Lecture, 18 undergraduate and graduate students will have posters on display related to their work/research in the area of world issues. Individuals are invited to view the students’ posters during a reception from 7-8 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Winners of the poster competition will be announced immediately following the conclusion of the Borlaug Lecture.This lecture was recorded, and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page.

CANCELLED The Live Free Tour
6:30 PM – CY Stephens Auditorium - The Live Free event with Charlie Kirk has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with Mr. Kirk. This event is free, open to the public, and does not require a ticket for entrance. It will not be recorded or livestreamed. Doors open at 5:30pm.The first 7 rows (300seats) will be reserved for ISU students until 6:10pm; show your ISU student ID at the SE or SW Tower doors to enter. The general public may enter through the North Doors.No bags will be permitted. Small bags for medical supplies and diaper bags will be permitted but will be searched before entry.No picket signs, banners, or other materials that could block views or be used as a weapon will be permitted. Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point, a national student movement dedicated to identifying, organizing, and empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government. The event is part of Mr. Kirk's "Live Free" college and universities tour organized by Turning Point. 

Can We Be Civil? Call-Out Culture in America
5:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Phi Beta Kappa Visiting ScholarPleas to be "civil" in our political and social dialogue in the news media are often followed by demands to call out discrimination and injustice wherever we see it. Can the two forms of interaction coexist? Or do they cancel each other out? This lecture will examine the tensions between the two types of discourse by referring back to a characteristically American form of political rhetoric: prophetic indictment, which finds its roots in Puritan Massachusetts but whose reach has extended to our own day. Cathleen Kaveny is a scholar who focuses on the relationship of law, religion, and morality. She serves as the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor at Boston College, a position that includes appointments in both the Theology Department and the Law School. Kaveny regularly teaches contract law to first-year law students. Her books include Law's Virtue: Fostering Autonomy and Solidarity in American Society and A Culture of Engagement: Law, Religion, and Morality.The University Book Store will be onsite selling her book at the event.This lecture will be recorded, and the recording link will be added here within 36-48 hours after the lecture has finished.

Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers
6:00 PM – Garden Room, Reiman Gardens - With their deadly plants, razor-sharp shears, shady corners, and ready-made burial sites, gardens make an ideal scene for a murder mystery. Flora and horticulture have had an outsize influence on the genre: motive, means, opportunity, victims, villains, and detectives. Join Marta McDowell, a writer, gardener, and avid mystery reader, in exploring the many ways in which writers—from Edgar Allen Poe and Wilkie Collins to Agatha Christie and some of today’s top crime fiction authors—have found inspiration in the sinister side of gardening.Friendly folks from Dog-Eared Books will also have copies of Marta’s new book, Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers for attendees to purchase. A portion of each sale will benefit Reiman Gardens.Marta McDowell teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and consults for private clients and public gardens. Her latest book is Unearthing The Secret Garden, about the inspiration for the classic children's book. Timber Press also published Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, New York Times-bestselling All the Presidents' Gardens, and Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, now in its eighth printing. Marta's new book about garden themes in murder mysteries, is due out from Timber Press in 2023. She was the 2019 recipient of the Garden Club of America's Sarah Chapman Francis Medal for outstanding literary achievement.For more information about Marta McDowell, visit https://www.martamcdowell.comPlease note: This lecture will not be recorded.

Money Madness: The Federal Reserve is Flying Blind. Why?
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - An economist, trader, advisor to presidents, and country boy from Cass County, Iowa, Steve Hanke is a professor of applied economics and founder and co-director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University. Prof. Hanke is currently ranked as the world's third-most influential economist by FocusEconomics in Barcelona, Spain. He was one of the few who accurately predicted the recent bout of U.S. inflation and its subsequent decline.Over four decades, Hanke has advised dozens of world leaders from Ronald Reagan to Indonesia’s Suharto on currency reforms, infrastructure development, privatization and how to tame hyperinflation. He served as a Senior Economist on President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers; as a Senior Advisor to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress; as a State Counselor to the Republic of Lithuania and to the Republic of Montenegro; and as an Advisor to the Presidents of Argentina, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela. Prof. Hanke helped to establish new currency regimes in Argentina, Estonia, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Lithuania and Montenegro. He has advised the governments of many other countries, including Albania, the United Arab Emirates and Yugoslavia.Prof. Hanke is also a well-known currency and commodity trader -- a trade introduced to him 70 years ago by his grandfather in Iowa. Among other things, Prof. Hanke was the president of Toronto Trust Argentina in Buenos Aires, the world’s best performing mutual fund in 1995. For his scholarly achievements, Prof. Hanke has been awarded seven honorary doctorate degrees and is an Honorary Professor at four foreign institutions. In 2020, Prof. Hanke was named a Knight of the Order of the Flag. Prof. Hanke's most recent book Did Lockdowns Work? The Verdict on Covid Restrictions was published in June by the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. Prof. Hanke and his wife, Liliane, reside in Baltimore and Paris. This lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Available Recordings page by clicking here.

Trice 100: The Name, The Legacy
7:30 PM – Parks Library, Reading Room 298 - Join George Trice from the Trice Legacy Foundation and Jill Wagner, ISU student government president 1975-76, to discuss how ISU students rallied support for naming Jack Trice Stadium and how the Trice family continues to grow his legacy via the Trice Legacy Foundation. Refreshments will follow.This presentation was recorded and is available to view on the Available Recordings website.