Community Speaker Series
Sharing knowledge is one of the ways Trent University gives back to our host communities and provides life long learning experiences to alumni. Each year, Trent offers open lectures featuring visiting faculty and experts, sharing ideas on subjects such as the Environment, Gender & Women's Studies, Business & Society, Chemistry, Cultural Studies, and Indigenous Studies. These talks are free and open to the Trent and broader communities. These lectures are made possible thanks to generous donor support.
The Ashley Fellowship is funded by a bequest from the late Professor C.A. Ashley, longtime friend of Trent University and an enthusiastic proponent of the role which the informal contacts of College life can play in the academic pursuits of the University. The Ashley Fellow is therefore a visiting scholar who is a resident guest in one of Trent's residential Colleges. By the terms approved by Senate in 1976, and in keeping with Professor Ashley's wishes, "scholar" should be broadly interpreted to include persons not necessarily holding an academic appointment.
Read more about the Ashley Fellowship here
Established by Trent University Professor Emeritus David Poole, former chair of Trent’s Mathematics Department, this annual lecture series will feature talks about mathematics and/or mathematics education. The intended audience is the Trent community, local teachers and students, and the general public.
Read more about the David Poole Lecture Series here
The inaugural privately funded academic Professorship at Trent University was established by an anonymous donor and named in honour of Dr. David Schindler, a world-renowned limnologist and former Trent professor. The lecture provides students, faculty and the public with a chance to explore ground breaking research in the field of aquatic science.
Read more about the David Schindler Professorship Lecture Series here
The David Sheperd Family Lecture Series introduces Trent students, faculty, and members of the community to leading scholars and people engaged in policy and practical work in the field of environmental science. The goal of the series is to build on the University’s reputation of leadership in Environmental Science/Studies.
Read more about the David Sheperd Family Lecture Series here
Endowed by a generous philanthropic donation, Distinguished Visiting Teaching Scholars facilitate events ranging from workshops to keynotes, allowing for informal discussion and personalized support for those interested in meeting with the Scholars.
Read more about the Distinguished Visiting Teaching Scholars here
The Elaine Stavro Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Theory, Politics & Gender Studies was created to introduce Trent students to leading speakers on sociological issues and significantly build on the University's reputation for interdisciplinary programs. The Visiting Scholar provides students, faculty and members of the community with exceptional access to eminent scholars and people engaged in theory, politics and gender studies.
Read more about the Elaine Stavro Lecture Series here
The Gilbert Ryle Lecture Series was established by the Philosophy Department at Trent in 1977 in honour of the late Professor Gilbert Ryle of Oxford University.
Read more about the Gilbert Ryle Lecture Series here
We established the Groarke Debates, a biannual event that will bring to Trent two high-profile public intellectuals to debate an urgent interdisciplinary topic of wide interest to the Trent and Peterborough communities. The Groarke Philosophy Endowment will fund these events.
Read more about the Groarke Debate here
Named in recognition of Economics Professor Emeritus Harry Kitchen, this annual lecture provides students, faculty and the public with access to a distinguished speaker who will explore the effect of public policy on the modern world
Read more about the Harry Kitchen Lecture Series here
The Jack Matthews Fellowship is named in honour of the founding Director of the Trent International Program, who also founded Pearson United World College in British Columbia, the Canadian Canoe Museum, and was a Headmaster of Lakefield College School. Each year, a fellow is chosen who embodies the value of those institutions, and the legendary spirit of Canadian global citizenship that was Jack Matthews' vision.
Read more about the Jack Matthews Fellowship here
The annual John Fekete Distinguished Lecture was established by the Cultural Studies PhD Program to honour Professor John Fekete on his retirement from Trent in 2012. The lectureship features distinguished visitors to the university to share their most recent or forthcoming publications that are influential and important in the field of cultural inquiry.
Read more about the John Fekete Lecture here
The Kennedy Lecture in Global Social Issues introduces the Trent and broader communities to exemplary scholars and leaders engaged in issues of social justice that have global dimensions. Founded by Trent alumnus Bruce Kennedy '66, this lecture aims to provide a focal point for discussions that can lead to a better understanding of our world, our place within it, and an examination of how to improve our engagement with key global issues.
Read more about the Kennedy Lecture Series here
The Margaret Laurence Lecture was established in honour of renowned author and former Trent University Chancellor Margaret Laurence. Hosted by the Gender and Women's Studies Department, and funded by a combination of a generous donation from the Bennett Family Foundation and matching funds from the Canadian Studies Directorate and Heritage Canada.
Read more about the Margaret Laurence Lecture Series here
Trent University honours the memory of Dr. Max Eisen C.M. '18 (hon) through an endowed lecture that continues his legacy of educating the public about the Holocaust and upholding human rights.
Read more about the Max Eisen Lecture Series here
The David Morrison Lecture in International Development brings globally distinguished scholars, who are renowned for the impact that their intellectual and applied work has had on international development studies, to Trent University to address members of the Trent and Peterborough communities.
Read more about the Morrison Lecture Series here
Each year the School organizes a series of public talks on the “north” broadly defined. Building on Trent’s established role as a centre of innovation in northern research (and in combination with the Roberta Bondar Fellowship in Northern Studies) these lectures are a key feature of academic life at Trent.
Read more about the North at Trent Lecture Series here
The Stairs Lecture is the first donor supported lecture series in Chemistry at Trent University and, was created by Trent Professor Emeritus Dr. Robert Stairs and his late wife, Sibyl. The biennial lecture series enables Trent to invite a distinguished scientist to speak on their research and to showcase the field of Chemistry.
Read more about the Stairs Lecture Series here
Named in honour of Trent professor Emeritus Dr. Stephen Katz, this lecture recognizes the excellence of a contemporary scholar of interdisciplinary aging studies and provides students, faculty and members of the public with exceptional access to such a scholar.
Read more about the Stephen Katz Lecture Series here
The Tapscott-Lopes Business and Society Lecture brings prominent speakers to Trent University and the community to address issues of values and ethics as they pertain to business and society.
Read more about the Tapscott-Lopes Lecture Series here
The W.L. Morton Lecture is named in honour of W.L. Morton, the Canadian historian and former Master of Trent's Champlain College. Presented by the Canadian Studies & History Undergraduate Departments, the Frost Centre of Canadian Studies & Indigenous Studies, and Catherine Parr Traill College.
Read more about the W.L Morton Lecture Series here