Search For Lectures


Past Events

Thursday, 31 Jan 2019

Creating Disney Magic: Lessons in Leadership, Management, and Customer Service - Lee Cockerell
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World® Resort, has held various executive positions in the hospitality and entertainment business and authored several books on leadership, management and customer service excellence. At Disney, Cockerell led a team of 40,000 cast members and was responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village and the ESPN sports and recreation complex in addition to their ancillary operations. He also created the Disney Great Leader Strategies, which was used to train and develop the 7000 leaders at Walt Disney World. His books include Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney and The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service. Part of the 2018-19 Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair Lecture Series, hosted by the Department of Apparel, Events and Hospitality Management

How Would You Balance the Federal Budget? - A Principles and Priorities Exercise
6:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Understand the complexities of balancing the federal budget and the difficult policy choices lawmakers face in this interactive workshop led by staff from the non-partisan Concord Coalition. This 2-hour event kicks off with a short overview of federal spending, followed by the 90-minute Principles and Priorities exercise. Working in small groups, participants will review current federal spending priorities, tax policy and entitlement reform options and apply their own principles and negotiating skills to put forward a consensus-based deficit reduction plan. It’s an eye-opening experience designed to educate voters on the political will and compromise required to address our spiraling national debt. David Oman, Senior Advisor to the Concord Coalition and former Chief of Staff for Governors Robert Ray and Terry Branstad, will facilitate the workshop. The Concord Coalition is a bipartisan national organization that for 25 years has worked to encourage a balanced federal budget. Participants are asked to attend the entire 2-hour event.

Monday, 28 Jan 2019

The Power of Knowing Your Purpose - Brittany Packnett
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Brittany Packnett is a leader at the intersection of culture and justice. A former teacher, non-profit executive director, and Fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics, she has been named one of TIME Magazine’s 12 New Faces of Black Leadership and honored at the 2018 BET Awards as "one of the fiercest activists of our time." Packnett serves as Teach For America’s Vice President of National Community Alliances, where she leads partnerships and civil rights work with communities of color. She is a co-founder of Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence; a contributor to the Crooked Media network’s weekly news roundup on Pod Save The People, and a Video Columnist for Mic News. She also served as an appointed member of the Ferguson Commission and President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series Keynote

Thursday, 24 Jan 2019

Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Convocation - Keynote speaker: BLACK KLANSMAN author Ron Stallworth
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Join us for Iowa State’s university-wide celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s program features keynote speaker Ron Stallworth, whose extraordinary story of being a black detective who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan is the subject of Spike Lee’s recent movie BlacKkKlansman. As the first black detective in the history of the Colorado Springs Police Department, Stallworth overcame fierce racial hostility to achieve a long and distinguished career in law enforcement. It was in 1978 that he responded to a KKK recruitment ad using his real name while posing as a white man. With the help of a partner standing in as the "white" Ron Stallworth, he was able to sabotage cross burnings and expose members of the white supremacist group. Stallworth will discuss the months-long investigation and Black Klansman, the memoir he subsequently wrote to share his experiences of a deeply divided America. The Advancing One Community Awards will be awarded prior to the keynote address.

Wednesday, 23 Jan 2019

BlacKkKlansman - Movie Screening
7:00 PM – Carver 101 - BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee and produced by Jordan Peele, offers a provocative exploration of American race relations. In the midst of the 1970s civil rights movement, Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) becomes the first black detective on the Colorado Springs Police Department. He sets out to prove his worth by infiltrating the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan and convinces his Jewish colleague (Adam Driver) to go undercover as a white supremacist. Nominated for 4 Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture-Drama, the film is an adaptation of Stallworth’s memoir and based on actual events.

Monday, 21 Jan 2019

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Birthday Celebration
6:00 PM – Ames Middle School, 3915 Mortensen Road - Celebrate with song, story and birthday cake. An Ames tradition! Join us at 6:00 for cake and music, followed by an hour-long program beginning at 6:30pm. Part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series

Wednesday, 16 Jan 2019

Let Freedom Ring - Carillon Concert
11:50 AM – Central Campus - A carillon concert in honor of Dr. King. Tin-Shi Tam, carillonneur. Part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Series

Monday, 3 Dec 2018

Amazing Iowa Women - Lecture and book release party with Katy Swalwell
1:00 PM – Sloss House - Katy Swalwell, an associate professor of education at Iowa State, is the author of the new illustrated children's book, Amazing Iowa Women. Swalwell worked with over 25 Iowa women artists and RAYGUN to create the book, which celebrates the incredible accomplishments of a diverse set of women throughout Iowa’s history. Swalwell will share highlights from the book as well as discuss her research and writing process. Books will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow her presentation.

Thursday, 29 Nov 2018

Rewriting DNA: Genome Editing in the CRISPR Era - Dipali Sashital
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Genomes are the blueprints for our cells, containing the information needed to grow and sustain life. The recent discovery of CRISPR tools have enabled scientists to precisely alter DNA through a process called gene editing. We now have the power to redesign cellular blueprints in all forms of life, including humans, opening the door for new disease treatments, improved food supplies, and new sources of energy. Iowa State assistant professor of biochemistry Dipali Sashital is an expert in CRISPR technology, and research in her lab focuses on understanding and improving these tools. Sashital will share the story of the development of this groundbreaking technology, from its humble beginnings as a bacterial immune system to the incredible promise its many applications hold. Sigma Xi Lecture Series

Wednesday, 28 Nov 2018

A Seat at the Table: Creating Deliberately Diverse and Intentionally Inclusive Spaces in the Sciences - Danielle N. Lee
7:00 PM – Dolezal Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall - Danielle N. Lee is a vocal advocate of science engagement among traditionally underrepresented and underserved audiences. She helped found the National Science & Technology News Service, a media literacy initiative to bring more science news to African-American audiences and promote science news source diversity in mainstream media. Lee began blogging about science and science education as a way to engage African-American and urban audiences in STEM. She hosts the Urban Scientist blog at Scientific American and teaches mammalogy and urban ecology at Southern Illinois University. Her many honors include being named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2017, EBONY Magazine’s Power 100 in 2014, and a White House Champion of Change in STEM Diversity and Access.