Scholars Week Keynote Speakers come from broad academic areas according to a rotating schedule between: Arts and Humanities, Natural and Applied Sciences, and Social Sciences and Business. Nominations may be from any field within these areas, but whatever the specialty, the nominee must be currently engaged in scholarly and/or creative activity.
Keynote Speaker selection criteria include: potential to be an engaging speaker, ability to connect with a broad and diverse audience, and career accomplishments.
2011 – present
2019 Distinguished Lecturers from WWU
Dr. Harsh Buddhadev & graduate student Carolyn Barbee (Health & Human Development)
Dr. Jun San Juan (Health & Human Development)
Dr. Jackie Caplan-Auerbach (Geology)
Dr. Brian Hutchinson & students (Computer Science)
Dr. Jane Wong (English)
2018
David Figlio
Orrington Lunt Professor and Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy
Northwestern University
2017
Tracy L. Johnson
Maria Rowena Ross Chair of Cell Biology and Biochemistry and Professor of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
University of California, Los Angeles
2016
Kent Monkman
Artist
2015
Sandy Grande
Professor of Education & Director for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity
Connecticut College
2014
Radha S. Hegde
Associate Professor of Media, Culture and Communication
New York University
2013
Joseph Francisco
Professor of Chemistry
Purdue Univeristy
2012
Samuel Green
Poet Laureate of Washington, 2007-2009
2011
Steven Landsburg
Professor of Economics
University of Rochester
2000 – 2010
2010
Tyrone Hayes
Professor of Integrative Biology
University of California, Berkeley
2009
Kirby Larson*
Western Washington University Alumnus
Recipient of a prestigious 2007 Newbery Honor Book Award for HATTIE
BIG SKY
Author of three other books written for children.
2008
Douglas Massey*
Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs
Princeton University
President of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
2007
Daniel L. Fiorito
Head, Information Evaluation for Chemical Demilitarisation
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Hague, Nederland
2006
N. Katherine Hayles
John Charles Hillis Professor of Literature
University of California, Los Angeles
2005
William R. Belcher
Forensic Anthropologist
POW/MIA Accounting Command
Hickam AFB, Hawaii
2004
Mary Lacey
Director of Research
Naval Sea Systems Command
Washington, DC
2003
Mark Shetabi*
2002 Pew Fellow
Raritan Valley Community College
2002
Terrance Deacon*
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Berkeley
2001
Elizabeth Jameson
Department of History
University of Calgary
2000
Robin Hemley
Department of English
Western Washington University