News Release

March 7, 2007

New Student-Run Lecture Series to Begin at Boise State University Starting Spring 2008

Boise State University will expand its guest lecturer programs starting in spring 2008 with a new lecture series organized and operated by students.

The new student-run lecture series will join the Distinguished Lecture Series and the Martin Luther King Jr./Human Rights Celebration as signature lecture events at Boise State, said Michael Laliberte, vice president for Student Affairs.

The new series will be funded by student fees previously allocated to the Distinguished Lecture Series through a $2 per student, per semester fee that was approved by the Student Senate in 2000 for a lecture series. The Distinguished Lecture Series will continue to offer several lectures each year, but will rely instead on sponsorships and private donations for funding, Laliberte said.

“This new lecture series will provide opportunities to expand the scope, depth and breadth of speakers we bring to Boise State University,” said President Bob Kustra. “It will be of particular benefit to our students, who will have new forums to listen to and interact with outstanding speakers from a variety of disciplines.”

As Boise State and the Treasure Valley continue to grow, the interest in attending guest lectures is also growing, Kustra added. “I am confident that this new lecture series will support and enhance our tradition of bringing outstanding speakers to campus who educate, challenge and inspire us,” he said.

The next major lecture at Boise State is Monday, March 12. The Distinguished Lecture Series will present Hans Blix, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, at 7 p.m. in the Morrison Center. Blix’s lecture, “Looking Ahead: Controlling Weapons of Mass Destruction,” is free and no tickets are required. Limited seating is available on a first-come basis. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Each year, Boise State brings dozens of speakers to campus who speak in venues ranging from individual classrooms to the Taco Bell Arena. The university does not have a centralized speaker selection process; instead, guest speakers are selected by different committees and groups that engage students, faculty, staff and the community.

About 40 guest speakers have presented lectures at Boise State so far this academic year, including former Reagan economist William Niskanen, Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissman Klein, radio personality Garrison Keillor, civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, National Book Award winner Jonathan Kozol, former vice president Al Gore, and author Tracy Kidder.

The Distinguished Lecture Series, The Frank Church Institute, the Fettuccine Forum, the Brandt Foundation Lecture Series and Global Perspectives are among the many groups that sponsor lectures. During the 2005-06 academic year, about 85 guest lecturers spoke at Boise State University, according to university records.

The new lecture series announced today is not yet named and is still in the early planning stages, Laliberte said. An ad hoc committee that includes the president and vice president of the Associated Students of Boise State University, as well as a number of other students, will work to design a new lecture series that is inclusive and representative of the entire Boise State student body. Once a proposed structure for the lecture series is in place, it will be presented for approval to student groups across campus. The lecture series plans to bring in its first speaker during the spring 2008 semester.

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Contact: Michael Laliberte, Vice President for Student Affairs, (208) 426-1418, michaellaliberte@boisestate.edu 
Media Contact: Frank Zang, University Communications, (208) 426-5391, frankzang@boisestate.edu

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Last reviewed on Tuesday, April 10, 2007