UP aims to feature variety of perspectives through lecture series
By Ame Phitwong
Lecturers on campus can create buzz or be another required assignment for class. In the past, UP has invited George Bush, the Dalai Lama and Jack Shewmaker, former president of Wal-Mart, to speak. Most recently, the university welcomed Ken Woodward for the Zahm lecture.
"Students have so many activities and so many things to do. To fill the auditorium, students aren't going to go unless it's something of value," said Robin Anderson, dean of the School of Business.
Anderson believes it is important to bring a speaker that is interesting and can give a unique perspective to a current issue.
"You don't want to talk about something you already learn in the classroom," Anderson said.
The most renowned recurring lecture series on campus are the Zahm, Schoenfeldt, Baucchio and Pamplin lectures. These lectures are considered endowed lectureships, meaning that a certain amount of money has been allocated and invested, with the earnings supporting the lectures year after year.
Anderson said the Baucchio lecture was given an endowment of $250,000. This endowment is designated to bring attention to entrepreneurship. This year's theme is sustainability and entrepreneurship. He said Baucchio lecturers are not paid; only their expenses are covered. The Pamplin lecture is given every year by Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., who donated $10 million to the School of Business.
The Zahm lecture series is another event on campus intended to inform the UP community. It was created to honor the Rev. John Zahm, C.S.C., who founded the university. Zahm was also a scientist who worked with Theodore Roosevelt.
The Rev. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., UP provost, plays a major role in coordinating the Zahm lectures.
"Its purpose is to foster Catholic intellectual life," Stabrowski said. "(The speaker) has to be a Catholic intellectual and help people understand the purpose of a Catholic university."
The Zahm lecturer is often someone of notoriety and must fit the criteria of the endowed lectureship.
Stabrowski explained that bringing a lecturer is a big investment that can run from $5,000 to $10,000.
This amount covers the cost of travel and a stipend for the speaker.
Stabrowski noted that some speakers can be very expensive. For example, Bill Clinton charges up to $100,000 per visit. He said last year Pacific University spent around $50,000 to have Madeline Albright, Clinton's secretary of state, to speak.
Stabrowski said it can be difficult to schedule people. He said the university sometimes must schedule a person two to three years in advance. Woodward was scheduled a year in advance for the Zahm lecture.
Stabrowski said the topic of the lecture is usually decided by whoever endows it.
"For the Zahm lecture, it is basically academic to further student experiences," Stabrowski said.
A less scholarly, but still very popular lecture series on campus is the Schoenfeldt series headed by the English department.
John Orr, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, described the series as "a celebration of American writers from the West."
Orr said the emphasis of the series is to bring in people who live or write in the American West to UP.
The series was created by the Rev. Arthur Schoenfeldt, C.S.C., and is endowed by his sister Suzanne Schoenfeldt Fields, a member of UP's Board of Regents, and her husband Fred Fields.
"Other schools don't do it quite like we do," said Brian Doyle, editor of UP's Portland Magazine. "We really encourage the writers to talk to students. The Schoenfeldt series has become a model for other lectures."
The Schoenfeldt series brings a lecturer to the area for two to three days. That person will attend UP classes, meet with students, and have lunch with them and the faculty.
For next year's Zahm lecture, Doyle said a similar format will be followed when the speaker, Paul Elie, visits. Unlike previous Zahm lectures, Elie will meet with students.
"We're always looking for people that would be good in the classroom. We want that person to be comfortable talking and interacting with students," Orr said.
He explained that some writers can be closed or aloof, and it is important to bring a person who is engaging.
Last year, author David James Duncun visited senior Alisha Fewin's Advanced Writing class.
"I didn't know what to expect. I never had an author come to class before," she said.
Fewins thought the lecture was going to be serious, but was delightfully surprised when Duncan began recounting crazy stories from his past and opened up interesting discussions with the students.
"It was a really good experience. I thought he was really cool; I liked it," Fewins said.
The series is not exclusive to writers of English literature. Sometimes writers with a background other than English, such as science, are invited to be part of the lecture.
"I confess I was a little skeptical at first because (the lecture) is usually for, and stays within, the English department," Orr said. "But now I think it's really cool it has worked so successfully (in involving students of all disciplines)."
Currently, Orr explained there were some issues in lining up a speaker. There was a fall and spring speaker lined up, but the fall speaker had to cancel.
The spring lecturer was coming to Portland for the Portland Art and Lecture series and was prohibited in doing any other lectures in town. Now, the Fall Schoenfeldt series will feature author Diana Abu-Jaber, who will be visiting on Oct. 23.
Orr explained that some writers charge anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 for one reading.
"We're nowhere in that ballpark," he said. "If you see a university charge to go to a lecture, that's why you pay admission."
All of UP's lectures series do not charge a fee to attend and are open to the public.
"They're totally free and open to the public; it's a great gesture from the university for people to come visit and be guests," Doyle said.
Anderson hopes that the lectures on campus facilitate more for a student than just a participation grade in class.
"Hopefully the lectures stimulate thought processes for students," Anderson said. "So they look at the theme or issue in a different way, a different perspective. They can do a better job of assessing information and come to their own point of view."
