Signature speaker series overview
The Office of Public Lectures (OPL), housed within the Graduate School, is the University of Washington’s premier hub for public engagement, dedicated to upholding the UW’s commitment to the free and open exchange of ideas. We transform expertise — scholarly and lived, academic and professional — into high-impact conversations that connect students, faculty, and the broader community, creating opportunities where research and big ideas bring clarity to a complex world.
OPL is committed to curating a speaker series that reflects a broad range of academic, political, and social perspectives over time. This commitment does not require that every individual speaker be paired with an ideological counterpart, nor does it require rejecting a speaker because their views are not balanced by a companion event. Viewpoint diversity is assessed across the history, full season and body of programming, not on an event-by-event basis.
Purpose
The Signature Speaker program allows OPL to respond quickly to emerging events, timely public conversations, and University-wide institutional priorities by curating high-profile, publicly recognized speakers outside the standard annual nomination and committee review cycle. UW faculty speaker nominees also fall under this speaker category.
UW faculty who are invited to give a public-facing lecture are evaluated under this Signature Speaker framework. This reflects the institutional credibility faculty already carry by virtue of their UW appointment and allows the Director to move quickly when a faculty member’s expertise aligns with a timely public moment or institutional priority. Note: Self nominations are not accepted. The OPL Selection Advisory Process will reject any self-nominations.
Core principle
As a public university, the University of Washington is committed to the free and open exchange of ideas. Extending an invitation to speak is not an endorsement of a speaker’s views. OPL protects that principle by ensuring that selection decisions are grounded in objective, viewpoint-neutral standards applied consistently to every nomination.
A speaker’s viewpoint — including a controversial, unpopular, or provocative one — is not, by itself, a basis for selection or rejection. Selection decisions are based on the following six committee-facing criteria, applied equally regardless of the speaker’s political affiliation, ideological perspective, or the content of their views
- Mission Fit
- Intellectual Quality
- Relevant Expertise & Subject Matter Expertise
- Public Speaking Ability
- Public Value
- Public Accessibility of the Topic
- Timeliness and Public Relevance
- Institutional Fit
Questions? Contact the Office of Public Lectures at lectures@uw.edu.