The committee invites all UW faculty (current and emeritus), deans, directors and chairs to submit a nomination for consideration for the Graduate School Public Lecture Series.
Nominations open on the first Monday of November and close at 5:00 PM PT on the last Thursday of January.
What the committee looks for
Walker Ames Lecturer (WAL)
The committee seeks nominees who are considered leaders in their respective academic fields with broad public and interdisciplinary appeal. In cooperation with written support from academic departments and programs, we seek nominations that reflect diversity of background, ethnicity, and intellectual thought. This successful nominee will give a public facing address as well as spend time in classrooms for 3-5 working days.
The endowment offers an honorarium for lecturers, plus hotel and travel, and departmental stipend to help offset hosting costs.
Nominations must include co-sponsorship letters of support and demonstrate the speaker’s interdisciplinary appeal.
Walker Ames Scholar (WAS)
The committee seeks nominees who are considered leaders in their respective academic fields and who may not have broad interdisciplinary support. Letters of support are not required for this nomination category. Successful scholars will not give a public facing address. They are expected to spend 3-5 working days on campus interacting with students and faculty in a classroom setting.
The endowment offers an honorarium for lecturers, plus hotel and travel, and departmental stipend to help offset hosting costs. Nominations must include departmental support.
Jessie and John Danz Lecturers
The committee seeks nominations of public intellectuals with national and international reputations. The Danz bequest specifies that we host scholars “who have concerned themselves with the impact of science and philosophy on man’s perception of a rational universe.” In choosing Danz lecturers, the committee reviews both the nominee’s record of accomplishment and his or her public speaking ability.
The Danz endowment offers a lecturer honorarium plus hotel and travel, and departmental stipend to help offset hosting costs.
Mary Ann and John D. Mangels Lecturers
The committee seeks nominations of underrepresented scholars or individuals whose work focuses on issues of diversity for the benefit of underrepresented students, the campus community, and the public.
The Mangels endowment offers a lecturer honorarium, plus hotel and travel, and departmental stipend to help offset hosting costs
Nominations must include co-sponsorship letters of support and demonstrate the speaker’s interdisciplinary appeal. Additionally, an explanation of how the visit will support GSEE’s mission to enhance equity and social progression to promote the success of underrepresented students at our Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses.
All nominations must include these core requirements:
- Identify the name and professional title of your nominee.
- Mission Fit and Motivation for Nomination: Why is this nominee and proposed lecture a strong fit for the Office of Public Lectures’ purpose of connecting the University and the public through engagement with significant ideas? Explain what makes the nomination timely, compelling, or distinctive.
- Intellectual Quality: What scholarship, expertise, professional accomplishment, or body of work demonstrates that the nominee can contribute substantive ideas worthy of public engagement? Describe the credibility and significance of the nominee’s work, independent of whether audiences agree with its conclusions.
- Relevant Expertise and Subject-Matter Knowledge: What demonstrated subject-matter expertise does the nominee bring to the proposed topic? Identify relevant scholarship, professional practice, publications, lived experience, or equivalent accomplishments, and explain how they connect directly to the proposed lecture.
- Interdisciplinary Appeal and University Benefit: How would the nominee’s visit engage more than one academic department, school, college, or campus unit and appeal to a broad cross-section of the University community? Explain how the proposed lecture aligns with the interdisciplinary mission of the Walker-Ames or Mangels Lecture Series, or with the mission of the selected endowment.
- Public Speaking Ability: What evidence demonstrates the nominee’s ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and engagingly with a public, non-specialist audience? Describe the nominee’s speaking experience, presentation style, and ability to engage a generally informed and diverse audience.
All current and emeritus UW faculty, directors of academic units, chairs and deans are eligible to make a nomination. OPL will not accept self-nominations nor consider nominations of past Walker-Ames, Mangels, or Danz lecturers. You can access the list of past speakers by clicking the Past Speakers link below.
Looking to nominate a speaker outside of the nomination window? Please see Signature Speaker Nomination Information.