I am very pleased to present the Graduate Council Lectures at the University of California, Berkeley. Seven lectureships comprise the Graduate Council Lectures, each with a distinct endowment history. These unique lectureship programs have brought distinguished visitors to Berkeley since 1909 to speak on a wide range of topics, from philosophy to the sciences.
This September I am proud to host Steven Usselman as a Jefferson Professor. His event will be a forum presented in collaboration with the Institute for Legal Research in observance of Constitution Day on September 17th. Professor Usselman specializes in the history of technology and American political economy. The Jefferson Lectures were established in 1944 to promote the basic principles of American democracy. Past lecturers have included Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, Archibald Cox, and Linda Greenhouse.
In mid-October, Leon Lederman, physicist, Nobel laureate, and science education advocate, will, as Hitchcock Professor, deliver two Hitchcock lectures. The Hitchcock Professorship is one of the University’s oldest and most cherished endowments. Previous Hitchcock Professors include Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, and Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Los Alamos laboratory during the development of the atomic bomb.
In late-October, Caroline Walker Bynum, distinguished medieval European historian, will present the Foerster Lecture. Many prominent individuals, including writer Aldous Huxley and physician and author Oliver Sacks, have presented the Foerster Lectures since they were first established.
I invite you to attend these exciting lectures, which are free and open to the public. It is my hope that you will benefit from the opportunity to hear and interact with these distinguished speakers.
Andrew Szeri
Dean of the Graduate Division
University of California, Berkeley