Special Public Event
The Enduring Themes of Past Jefferson Lectures
Washington, DC, and Livestreamed
This event is free and open to the public. You have the option to view the livestream of the session or attend in person, Friday, January 24, 2025, 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET.
Advance registration is required for those not already registered to attend the AAC&U Annual Meeting. Once registered, you will receive additional information.
Please join us for an exploration of the enduring impact of the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, a program that has helped shape the intellectual landscape of American culture for more than five decades.
Established by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1972, the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities. In her 2023 lecture, “Facing History to Find a Better Future,” Ruth Simmons drew on her more than fifty years of experience as a scholar, pioneering academic administrator, and changemaker in higher education to speak about the role of the humanities in fostering socioeconomic mobility and cultural belonging. In his 2022 lecture, “The Question of Reparations: Our Past, Our Present, Our Future,” Andrew Delbanco addressed reparations for slavery in the United States, using history, philosophy, and literature to examine a wide range of perspectives on the debate.
This special public session of the AAC&U Annual Meeting will bring these two recent Jefferson Lecturers together for a wide-ranging discussion of the role of institutions in confronting difficult histories and shaping more inclusive futures and the ongoing struggle to understand and define the American ideal. In conversation with AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella, Simmons and Delbanco will revisit themes from their Jefferson Lectures and consider their ongoing relevance in the current national context.
Andrew Delbanco
The Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University and President of the Teagle Foundation
Ruth Simmons
Professor, author, and president emerita of Prairie View A&M, Brown University, and Smith College
Lynn Pasquerella
President of AAC&U
Registration
This event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required for those not already registered for the AAC&U Annual Meeting.
During the registration process, you will be asked to choose between the in-person session, which will be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, DC, and the livestream.
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