Stanley Stone Distinguished Lecture Series

About the Stanley P. Stone Distinguished Lecture Series

Stanley P. Stone
Stanley P. Stone (CGS’64, Questrom’66)

The Stanley P. Stone Distinguished Lecture Series brings notable, inspiring speakers to the College of General Studies (CGS), inviting the CGS and BU community to broaden their educational experience related to one of the College’s academic division areas: humanities, social science, natural sciences, or rhetoric. Lecture topic areas span the genres, from environmental change and violent conflict to the biology of viruses and public health; from racism in the U.S. to musical theatre and the American urban experience; from the evolution of goodness to American foreign policy. Instituted in 1989, the College is grateful to offer this enriching experience on an annual basis, made possible by the generosity of Stanley P. Stone (CGS’64, Questrom’66).

This year’s event:

Transforming the United Nations to Confront the Climate Crisis with Colombe Cahen-Salvador
February 5, 2025 | 5 pm EST | Jacob Sleeper Auditorium, College of General Studies
Register here

Colombe Cahen-Salvador is a political activist and co-founder of Atlas, a global movement uniting people for humanity’s survival, with 25,000+ members in over 134 countries. She is currently running to become United Nations Secretary-General for climate change, artificial intelligence, wars, dictatorships, pandemics, and poverty to finally be tackled. She also lectures at Northeastern University. Previously, Colombe co-founded Volt Europa, the first pan-European political party, served as a trustee of the United Nations Association – UK, and sat on the board of the Democracy and Culture Foundation.

Accessibility

If you have a disability (including but not limited to learning or attention, mental health, concussion, vision, mobility, hearing, physical or other health related), require communication access services for the deaf or hard of hearing, or believe that you require a reasonable accommodation for another reason please contact the College of General Studies at cgsdean@bu.edu by January 29th, to discuss your needs.

Previous speakers include:

  • Historian and teacher Nwando Achebe
  • Climate justice activist Jacqueline Patterson
  • Voting rights activist Cliff Albright
  • Award-winning artist Lynda Barry
  • Global health advocate Paul Farmer
  • Journalist and expert on liberal democracies Yascha Mounk
  • Award-winning author Dr. Emily Bernard
  • Jacob Holdt, author of American Pictures
  • Civil rights activist and attorney J.L. Chestnut, Racism in the U.S.
  • American trial attorney, novelist, and former mayor of Beverly Hills Robert Tanenbaum, American Identity: Law Literature
  • Ugandan academic, author and political commentator Mahmood Mamdani, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: As a Guide to Understanding Politics
  • “Father of sociobiology”, “Father of biodiversity” and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner E.O. Wilson, On the Common Ground Between the Humanities and the Sciences
  • British actress and BAFTA award-winner Miriam Margoyles (Professor Sprout in Harry Potter), Dicken’s Women
  • American physicist, author of the international bestseller Einstein’s Dreams, and social entrepreneur Dr. Alan Lightman
  • British public intellectual and literary theorist Terry Eagleton, The Death of Criticism
  • Irish American activist and author of All Souls and Easter Rising Michael Patrick MacDonald