Speaker Series

LLE-logo-3-just steps - dark blueThe Legacy Speaker Series invites local, regional, and national leaders from a multitude of fields and industries to share and explore the concepts and applications of leadership in their areas of expertise. Legacy, with its inter-disciplinary, collaborative, and forward-looking approach, has hosted such varied topics as politics, public education, global warming, robotics, genomics, sports broadcasting, civil rights, Parkinson’s research, space exploration, health care and much more. Partnering with schools and colleges across campus, the Legacy Speakers Series has established itself as a program that invites the entire campus community to think, explore, and learn more about emerging topics that will affect all of us as individuals, a University, a nation, and a global community.

Upcoming Speaker:

Jonathan Eig, author of KING: a Life -- a behind the scenes look at MLK's Jr's Life! 

This year marks the 60th year of the March on Washington!

 

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2023 Speakers

Women in Leadership: Breaking Barriers & Embracing Equity

Batouly Camara: Humanitarian & Basketball Player
Baoutly was a former UConn Women's Basketball and now works on humanitarian and women's empowerment projects on an international level
March 30th @ 5:30 PM
AsAAC Cultural Center

 

 

 

2022 Speakers

Passion & Perseverance

Aaron Golub: NFL Free Agent
Aaron became the first legally blind athlete to play football in a Division 1 game when he was at Tulane University.
April 6th @ 7:00PM
MCHU 101

 

Resilience & Overcoming Failure

Chukwudi N. Kanu: Entrepreneur, Investor
Focused on leveraging technology to solve today's systemic problems for a more equitable and inclusive future.
March 8th @ 7:00PM
The Dodd Center

 

Making the Invisible Visible

Eyal Press: Journalist & Author
Writing focuses on social and economic inequality; 2022 Hillman Prize Recipient
September 26th @ 7:00PM
The Dodd Center

2021 Speakers

Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in Flint, Michigan

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Pediatrician, Professor, Public Health Advocate
Monday, September 27th @ 7:00PM
Livestream Event

 

How COVID-19 Will Change the World 

Dr. Michael Osterholm, Epidemiologist, COVID-19 Expert,
Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Virtual Livestream

Social Media as a Tool for Meaningful Activism & Change 

Feminista Jones, Philadelphia-based feminist writer, public speaker, retired social worker, and community activist
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Virtual Livestream

 

2020 Speakers

Why We're Hooked: The Truth Behind Addictive Technology

Adam Alter, New York Times Bestselling Author & Associate Professor of Marketing and Psychology at New York University's Stern School of Business
Monday, October 26, 2020
Virtual Livestream

Race, Voter Suppression, and the Myth of Democracy in the U.S.

Dr. Carol Anderson, Human and Civil Rights Advocate & Professor of African American Studies at Emory University
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Virtual Livestream

The Bionic Pancreas & The Future of Diabetes Management

Edward Damiano, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University and President & CEO of Beta Bionics, Inc.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Student Union Theatre

2019 Speakers

Youth Led Movements: Making Waves in Today's Political Climate

Cameron Kasky, Co-Founder of March for Our Lives and Activist
Monday, September 30, 2019
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Moderated by: Professor Chris Vials, Director of American Studies

Innovation, Leadership, and Succeeding in a Male Dominated Field

Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography and Lighting for Pixar
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Konover Auditorium

2018 Speakers

Disability in the Workplace & Overcoming Adversity

Heather Abbott, Boston Bombing Survivor and Amputee
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
McHugh Hall 101

True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

Sam Quinones, journalist and author
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Konover Auditorium

Life After Hate

Christian Picciolini, Emmy Award-winning director and producer, a published author, TEDx speaker, global peace advocate, and a reformed white supremacist
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Student Union Theatre

2017 Speakers

Weapons of Math Destruction

Cathy O'Neil, data scientist and author of Weapons of Math Destruction and Doing Data Science
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Laurel Hall 101

Reimagining Prison: Young Adults & Justice Reform

Alex Frank, Senior Program Associate for Youth Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice
Monday, April 3, 2017
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

America After Obama: Examining our Discourse on Race, Diversity, and Social Justice in the Era After America's First Black President

Charles Coleman, Jr., Civil Rights Attorney and Legal Analyst
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Student Union Theatre

2016 Speakers

Gene Editing: The CRISPR Revolution

Sharon Begley, Senior Science Writer at STAT, the life sciences publication of the Boston Globe
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

The Road to Character

David Brooks, author of The Road to Character, writes a bi-weekly OpEd column for The New York Times, and regular analyst on PBS NewsHour and on NPR’s All Things Considered
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Laurel Hall 102

Your Brain Onscreen: Reading, Thinking, Knowing

Dr. Naomi Baron, Executive Director of the Center for Teaching, Research and Learning and Professor of Linguistics at American University
Monday, April 11, 2016
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Triggering Debate: Guns in the United States

Saul Cornell, Professor of American History at Fordham University and author of A Well Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America; Stephen Halbrook, Attorney-at-Law and author of The Founder's Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Moderated by: Richard Kay, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UConn Law and leading scholar on constitutional interpretation

2015 Speakers

Fuel for Debate: Climate Change and Carbon Emissions

Dr. Steven Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund's Chief Scientist
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Oak Hall

U.S. Middle East Involvement- Stuck in the Middle

Aaron David Miller, Vice President for New Initiatives and Distinguished Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Author
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Angry Tweet or True Threat? Freedom of Speech on Social Media

Molly Land, UConn Law Professor; David McGuire, Staff Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut; Jayne Hitchcock, President of the advocacy organization Working to Halt Online Abuse
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Moderated by: Dr. Kristin Kelly, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut

Truth: Who Decides?

Seth Mnookin, Associate Director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, Author, Journalist
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Laurel Hall

2014 Speakers

Speaking Truth to Power

Dr. Anita Hill, Professor of Social Policy, Law and Women's Studies at Brandeis University, Author
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Student Union Theater

The Next America: Exploring America's Changing Demographics

Paul Taylor, Senior Fellow at the Pew Research Center, Author
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Concussions: Where Science, Sports, and Society Converge

Dr. Joanne Conover, Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology; Dr. Douglas Casa, Professor of Kinesiology; Dorothy Bedford, Activist
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Laurel Hall
Moderated by: Dr. Anthony Alessi, Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology, Professional Sports Consultant
Co-sponsored with the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Department of Kinesiology

Leadership in Times of Crisis

Dannel P. Malloy, Governor
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Laurel Hall

2013 Speakers

Genomics Science, Medicine & Your Future

Dr. Edison Liu, President & CEO of Jackson Labs
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Laurel Hall

How Children Succeed: The Hidden Power of Character

Paul Tough, Author
Monday, October 7, 2013
Student Union Theater
Co-sponsored with the Neag School of Education

Defending Democracy

Scott Bates, President of the Center for National Policy
Monday, February 18, 2013
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

2012 Speakers

Man and the Machine

Wendell Wallach, Chair of Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Co-Author: Morals and Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong
Monday, November 5, 2012
Laurel Hall

Sports. Media. Empire

Bill Rasmussen, Founder ESPN Sports Network
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Student Union Theater

The Protestor

Kurt Andersen, Journalist, Author, TIME Magazine Contributor
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
Laurel Hall

2011 Speakers

How 9/11 Changed Our Lives

Dr. Bandana Purkayastha, Professor of Sociology; Dr. Virginia Hettinger, Professor of Political Science; Maureen Croteau, Professor of Journalism
Wednesday, September 8, 2011
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Moderated by Dr. Lyle Scruggs, Professor of Political Science

The Future of Public Education

Dr. Steven Adamowski, Superintendent Hartford Public Schools
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Gentry Building
Co-sponsored with the Neag School of Education

50th Anniversary of Peace Corps

Carrie Hessler-Radelet,Deputy Director of the U.S. Peace Corps
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Featured Guests Include: Phillip E. Austin, UConn President (Former); Maureen Shanley, President of the Connecticut Chapter of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

2010 Speakers

Stuffed and Starved

Raj Patel, Writer, Activist
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

An Evening with Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox, Actor, Writer, Activist
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Jorgensen Theatre

2009 Speakers

The Power of Arrogance, and the Arrogance of Power

John G. Rowland,  Governor (Former)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice & Human Rights

Awarded To: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); Accepted by Marianne Pearl
Monday, October 5, 2009
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Special Guests Included: Senator Christopher Dodd (Ret.), Marianne Pearl (wife of Daniel Pearl - slain Wall Street Journal Reporter killed in Pakistan in 2002)

Principles, Politics and Leadership: The risks and rewards of staying true and speaking honestly in Washington

Christopher Shays, Congressman (Ret.)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Civil Liberties Today: A Conversation with Nadine Strossen

Nadine Strossen,  President of the American Civil Liberties Union (Former)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Student Union Theater

2008 Speakers

The Cutting Edge of Business: Corporate Responsibility

Joe Bozich, CEO of Knights Apparel
Friday, November 7, 2008
Student Union Ballroom
Co-sponsored with the University's President’s Committee on Corporate Social ResponsibilityJoe Bozich, CEO of Knights Apparel

Leadership Lessons from Antarctica

Margot Morrell, Author:  Shackleton’s Way; Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Student Union Theater
Co-sponsored with the College of Liberal Arts and Science’s Myles Martel Lecture in Leadership and Public Opinion and the Office of First Year Programs

The Birthing of a New Healthcare System in America

Nancy Johnson, Congresswoman (Ret.)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Co-sponsored with the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, and the School of Nursing

2007 Speakers

The Future of Space Exploration

Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, UConn Alum, NASA Astronaut (Ret.)
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Rocky Hill Marriott, Rocky Hill, CT
Co-Sponsored with the Honors Program, School of Engineering

Leadership In the Face of Adversity

Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., Distinguished-Scholar-in-Residence and Director, Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, University of Rhode Island
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

Of the People, By the People, and For The People

Barbara Kennelly, Congresswoman (Ret.)
Edward Silverman
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Moderated by Barry Feldman, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer & Professor of Public Policy, University of Connecticut (Ret.)