Search For Lectures


Past Events

Tuesday, 23 Feb 2010

Innovation and Ethics - Yvon Chouinard
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Yvon Chouinard is founder and owner of Patagonia, a maker of environmentally conscious, high-performance outdoor apparel. A leader in corporate social responsibility, Chouinard capitalized on his company's success in the late 1980s to tackle the looming environmental crisis. He instituted the Patagonia Earth Tax, which pledges 1 percent of company sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. And in 2001 he helped start One Percent For The Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1 percent of their net annual sales to approved environmental organizations. Chouinard, who began in business by designing, manufacturing, and distributing rock climbing equipment, is also the author of Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. Part of the National Affairs Series and the Iowa State University Symposium on Sustainability. A reception and poster session will precede the lecture at 7:00 p.m. in the Oak Room. Also featured will be sculptures created from trash removed from Iowa's rivers. The Rivers exhibit is an annual collaboration between Ogden artist David Williamson and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Project AWARE, a weeklong volunteer river cleanup.

Monday, 22 Feb 2010

Improving the Lives of Smallholder Farmers in Africa and South Asia: The Role of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - David Bergvinson
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - David Bergvinson is a Senior Program Officer in Agricultural Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining the foundation, Bergvinson spent over a decade at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, where he led a program to develop insect-resistant maize varieties for Africa and Asia. He also managed CIMMYT's drought breeding network in Southeast Asia that resulted in the development of several stress-tolerant lines that have since been released through national programs. Bergvinson currently manages seven crop improvement grants within the Science & Technology division of the foundation.

Recovering from an Eating Disorder and Falling in Love with Life - Jenni Schaefer
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Jenni Schaefer, a recovered bulimic, has helped change the face of eating disorder awareness and recovery. She coauthored her first book, Life Without Ed, with her psychotherapist, who taught her to treat her eating disorder as a relationship rather than an illness or condition. Schaefer actually named her anorexia/bulimia "Ed," an acronym for "eating disorder." Her new book, Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life, tackles the transition from recovery to liberation. Jenni Schaefer is a consultant with the Center for Change in Orem, Utah, and a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul. She is a regular guest on national radio and television, including appearances on Dr. Phil and Entertainment Tonight. Part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

Strange as This Weather Has Been: A Reading - Ann Pancake
7:00 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - Ann Pancake's first novel, Strange as This Weather Has Been, features a southern West Virginia family devastated by mountaintop removal mining. Based on interviews and real events, the novel was one of Kirkus Review's Top Ten Fiction Books of 2007, won the 2007 Weatherford Award, and was a finalist for the 2008 Orion Book Award. Pancake's collection of short stories, Given Ground, won the 2000 Bakeless Award, and she has also received a Whiting Award, an NEA Grant, and a Pushcart Prize. She currently teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Pacific Lutheran University. Part of the Eco-Voices Series.

Saturday, 20 Feb 2010

Rationality of Belief in God - A Forum with Peter Kreeft
11:00 AM – 1148 Gerdin Business Building - Peter Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and the author of over forty books, including Making Sense Out of Suffering. His writings tackle questions related to the nature of suffering, the existence of God, and ecumenism. He is a regular contributor to several Christian publications, and his first novel, An Ocean Full of Angels, will be published next year. Kreeft earned a PhD from Fordham University. Please also join us for a forum

Friday, 19 Feb 2010

The Problem of Evil and Suffering - Peter Kreeft
7:30 PM – Stephens Auditorium - Peter Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and the author of over forty books, including Making Sense Out of Suffering. His writings tackle questions related to the nature of suffering, the existence of God, and ecumenism. He is a regular contributor to several Christian publications, and his first novel, An Ocean Full of Angels, will be published next year. Kreeft earned a PhD from Fordham University.Veritas Forum

Thursday, 18 Feb 2010

The Super Bowl: The Field Isn't the Only Thing That's Green - Jack Groh
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Jack Groh is the director of the NFL Environmental Program, which was created to minimize the environmental impact of NFL events on the communities in which its games are played. The program evaluates the impact of events like the Super Bowl and then partners with local organizations and agencies to develop cost-effective ways to address those impacts. Efforts include reducing solid waste, increasing recycling and landfill diversion, tapping renewable energy for game-day usage, food recovery from Super Bowl parties for distribution to local food banks, and donations of materials used to construct and decorate temporary structures. The program also initiated a carbon-neutral initiative, a first in U.S. sports history. Part of the National Affairs Series: Innovation and Ethics.

Charting our Course: Technology and Learning for the 21st Century - Malcolm Brown
8:30 AM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Malcolm Brown is the director of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. Prior to assuming the position of director of the Learning Initiative, Brown was the Director of Academic Computing at Dartmouth College. He is a graduate of the EDUCAUSE Frye Leadership Institute and the Harvard Management Development Program and is currently serving as the editor of the New Horizons column for the EDUCAUSE Review. Brown holds a PhD in German studies from Stanford University and was a Fulbright Scholar at Albert Ludwigs Universitat in Freiburg, Germany. The 2010 ComETS Symposium Keynote Lecture. ComETS is an Iowa State University community that promotes dialog on educational technology.

Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010

Innovation in Sustainable Engineering and Energy: A Whole Foods Perspective - Kathy Loftus
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Kathy Loftus is Global Leader for Sustainable Engineering, Maintenance and Energy Management for Whole Foods Market, the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods. She coordinates strategic energy procurement, efficiency upgrades, engineering and maintenance best practices, and green building efforts for the chain. Her work includes coordinating program partnerships and efforts with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and U.S. Green Building Council. Loftus holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and is a Certified Energy Manager through the Association of Energy Engineers. Part of the National Affairs Series: Innovation and Ethics and the Women in STEM Series.

Friday, 12 Feb 2010

College of Business 25th Anniversary Distinguished Scholar Series - Vallabh Sambamurthy
10:00 AM – Schaller Seminar Room, 3164 Gerdin Business Building - Vallabh Sambamurthy is the Eli Broad Professor of Information Technology at Michigan State University and former executive director of the Center for Leadership of the Digital Enterprise. He is the coauthor of Winning the Three Legged Race: When Business and Technology Run Together, which advocates the necessity for firms to integrate their business and information technology management processes. Sambamurthy is currently the editor-in-chief of Information Systems Research. He earned a PhD from the University of Minnesota and has served on the faculties of the business schools at the University of Maryland and Florida State University. Part of the College of Business 25th Anniversary Distinguished Scholar Series