The Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture Series brings the world's leaders to the Greencastle Campus. A notable list of eminent individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including politicians, scientists, journalists, and human rights activists have presented Ubben Lectures, which are free and open to the public.
“Economics is a field heavily dominated by people interested in theory rather than asking real-world questions. What Freakonomics has done is connect with a lot of young people.”
Steven Levitt
Below you will find a list of Ubben Lecture Series speakers. Click on the images to access text and/or photos, audio and video of highlighted Ubben Lecturers.
Steven Levitt Economist and Co-Author of Freakonomics November 30, 2009
Howard Dean & Karl Rove Former Governor and Democratic National Committee Chair
Jane Pauley Award-Winning Journalist April 17, 2009
Todd Rundgren Musician and Technology Pioneer April 8, 2009
David Plouffe Obama 2008 Campaign Manager February 2, 2009
Greg Mortenson Humanitarian and Author of Three Cups of Tea November 13, 2008
Tony Blair Former Prime Minister of Great Britain March 3, 2008
Frank Warren PostSecret Founder November 26, 2007
Ralph Nader Consumer Advocate, Lawyer, Activist and Three-Time Presidential Candidate September 27, 2007
Jim Alling '83 President, Starbucks U.S March 13, 2007
Mitch Albom Bestselling Author and Sportswriter November 13, 2006
E.O. Wilson Biologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author November 8, 2006
Charles Fishman Author, The Wal-Mart Effect April 18, 2006
Mikhail Gorbachev Former Soviet Leader and Nobel Peace Prize Winner October 27, 2005
Naomi Wolf Author and Feminist September 21, 2005
Paul Rusesabagina Real-Life Hero of Hotel Rwanda April 25, 2005
Liz Murray "Homeless to Harvard" April 6, 2005
Peyton Manning 2003 NFL Co-Most Valuable Player October 26, 2004
Richard G. Lugar U.S. Senator & Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 25, 2004
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III Former Presidential Envoy to Iraq September 16, 2004
William S. Cohen Former Defense Secretary, U.S. Senator and Congressman April 22, 2004
Eric Schlosser Author and Investigative Journalist November 11, 2003
Paul A. Volcker Former Federal Reserve Chairman October 8, 2003
Gen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.) Presidential Candidate and Military Analyst September 23, 2003
Spike Lee Director, Producer, and Writer April 3, 2003
Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield Founders, "Ben & Jerry's" Ice Cream November 18, 2002
Mike Krzyzewski Head Basketball Coach, Duke University September 12, 2002
Harry Belafonte Entertainer and Human Rights Activist September 7, 2002
David McCullough Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author, Historian and Television Host March 18, 2002
Robert M. Gates Former CIA Director December 3, 2001
Robert H. Waterston, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the Genome Sequencing Center & James S. McDonnell Professor & Chair of the Washington University Department of Genetics November 15, 2001
John Major Former British Prime Minister October 29, 2001
Burton Lee Gerber Retired CIA Officer March 22, 2001
Norman J. Ornstein Author, Columnist and CBS Election Analyst November 16, 2000
Samuel E. Mann Methodist Minister, Human Rights Spokesman November 13, 2000
William J. Bennett Former Secretary of Education March 2, 2000
Andrew J. Young Former UN Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor March 2, 2000
Julian Bond NAACP Chairman of the Board, Civil Rights and Peace Activist February 29, 2000
Oliver Sacks Neurologist and Author, Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Migraine October 28, 1999
Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D. '58 1998 Nobel Laureate in Medicine April 23, 1999
George Gilder Economist, Technology Consultant and Commentator April 16, 1999
Doris Kearns Goodwin Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian and Best-selling Author and Commentator February 12, 1999
Alan Simpson Retired US Senator, Attorney and Author November 6, 1998
David R. Gergen Presidential Adviser, Journalist and Political Commentator October 14, 1998
Sam Donaldson Correspondent, ABC News May 8, 1998
Seymour M. Hersh Author, The Dark Side of Camelot December 9, 1997
Jonathan Kozol Educator, Writer and Activist November 11-12, 1997
Gloria Borger Columnist, U.S. News and World Report and CBS News Analyst November 5, 1997
Christopher Edley, Jr. Senior Advisor to President Clinton for Race and Initiative and Author November 5, 1997
Gwen Ifill Washington D.C.-based NBC News Correspondent October 28, 1997
Roger Wilkins Educator, Writer, NPR Commentator and Activist October 14-15, 1997
Bill Bradley Former US Senator and Basketball Hall of Famer September 10, 1997
Benazir Bhutto Former Prime Minister of Pakistan May 7, 1997
Sister Helen Prejean Prison Activist and Author of Dead Man Walking April 30, 1997
Dr. David Ho Time Magazine's 1996 Man of the Year, America's premier AIDS researcher April 16, 1997
Shimon Peres Former Israeli Prime Minister and 1994 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient November 11, 1996
H. Ross Perot Business Executive and Presidential Candidate April 29, 1996
Barbara Bush Former First Lady March 20, 1996
James Lovell Former Astronaut and Apollo 13 Commander December 1, 1995
Bob Woodward Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Assistant Managing Editor, The Washington Post December 2, 1994
General Colin Powell Former Chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff November 2, 1994
Lynne Cheney Former Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities October 7, 1994
Ken Burns Emmy Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker April 6, 1994
George Will Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist, Newsweek Magazine and The Washington Post March 4, 1994
Allen Neuharth Founder, USA Today December 3, 1993
Brian Mulroney Former Prime Minister of Canada November 18, 1993
David S. Broder Pulitzer Prize-Winning Political Commentator November 12, 1993
Paul Tsongas Former U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate April 30, 1993
Carl Rowan Journalist and Author April 6, 1993
Leon Lederman Physicist and Nobel Laureate April 2, 1993
Tom Wicker Author, Commentator and Former New York Times Columnist March 12, 1993
Jesse Jackson Civil Rights Leader and Two-Time Presidential Candidate December 3, 1992
William J. Bennett Former Secretary of Education September 30, 1992
Margaret Thatcher Former Prime Minister of Great Britain April 7, 1992
David R. Brower Environmentalist January 25, 1991
Willy Brandt Former Chancellor of West Germany and Nobel Peace Prize Winner November 2, 1990
Lester C. Thurow Economist and Author March 9, 1990
Elie Wiesel Author and Nobel Peace Prize Winner September 21, 1989
William J. Bennett Former Secretary of Education October 6, 1988
Zbigniew Brzezinski Former National Security Adviser March 4, 1988
Mary Frances Berry Historian and Member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights November 6, 1987
Allan Bloom Philosopher and Author, Closing of the American Mind September 11, 1987
Gov. Richard Lamm (D) Colorado November 15, 1986