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Past Speakers

Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt

Steven Levitsky is the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he serves on the executive committee for the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.

Daniel Ziblatt is Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard University where he is also a resident faculty associate of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies and Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

Nadia Murad

Nadia Murad, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and human rights activist, delivered Loyola University Maryland's 2021 Hanway Lecture in Global Studies on Nov. 10, 2021. Murad is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State. Her memoir details a harrowing account of the 2014 Yazidi genocide and her kidnap and imprisonment by the Islamic State (IS). During her lecture at Loyola, Murad shared her painful story of captivity, her courageous escape, and her new life as an activist for the rights of women and girls. Murad speaks all over the world to create greater awareness of sexual violence, human trafficking and the needs of its victims, and to defend the rights of all marginalized ethnic and religious minorities. Murad’s memoir has been translated into more than 40 languages and serves as an example for other survivors, including those still in captivity. She is also the founder and president of Nadia’s Initiative, a non-profit that is dedicated to helping survivors of genocide and human trafficking to heal and rebuild their communities.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, Ph.D.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, Ph.D., award-winning author, delivered the 2020 Hanway Lecture in Global Studies virtually on Wednesday, October 7, 2020. The lecture titled, "An Evening with Viet Thanh Nguyen," discussed migration and focused on his New York Times best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Sympathizer and his short story collection The Refugees. Nguyen’s debut novel, The Sympathizer, is a suspenseful, espionage story of love and betrayal. The book has also received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America, among others. Nguyen has published additional award-winning pieces including The Refugees and Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War. At the time of the lecture, Nguyen was a professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity, and comparative literature, and the Aerol Arnold Chair of English at the University of Southern California. He was also a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. Nguyen, a Vietnam native, moved to the United States with his family in 1975 and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with degrees in English and ethnic studies, as well as a Ph.D. in English.

Mohsin Hamid

Award-winning author Mohsin Hamid delivered the 2019 Hanway Lecture in Global Studies and the Humanities Symposium Keynote Address on Monday, March 18. Hamid was born in Pakistan and grew up in Pakistan and California. He attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School and worked in New York and London as a management consultant before returning to Pakistan to pursue writing. Hamid has published five novels—Exit West, Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, and Discontent and Its Civilizations. Hamid’s essays and short stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, TIME, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, and many others. He is a winner of the Betty Trask Award, a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway award, and has been shortlisted for the Man Booker twice. In 2013, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the world’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers.

Paul Hawken

Paul Hawken, American environmentalist and author, delivered Loyola University Maryland's Hanway Lecture in Global Studies on Tuesday, April 3, 2018. Hawken's interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary lecture, "Drawdown: 100 Solutions for Global Warming," will focus on his latest book, Drawdown – The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, and his non-profit organization, Project Drawdown. Project Drawdown, which Hawken founded, works to find the 100 most substantive solutions that can cumulatively reverse global warming by reducing greenhouse gas. The organization works with more than 200 scholars, students, scientists, researchers, and activists. In addition to starting a non-profit, Hawken also consults with heads of state and CEOs on climate, economic, and ecological regeneration. He is the author of eight books, including Growing a Business, The Ecology of Commerce, and Blessed Unrest. Hawken has appeared on the Today Show, Talk of the Nation, Bill Maher, and Charlie Rose. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Washington Post, and Business Week

Richard Alley, Francisco Alpizar, and Danny Richter

A panel featuring Richard Alley, Ph.D., Francisco Alpizar, Ph.D., and Danny Richter, Ph.D., discussed climate change at the fifth Hanway Lecture in Global Studies on September 19, 2017. The speakers discussed the causes and potential consequences of climate change at a global scale, explored how developing nations are reacting to the challenges and opportunities imposed by climate change, and delved into the political environment around climate change action.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and human rights advocates Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn delivered the fourth Hanway Lecture in Global Studies on April 11, 2016. Kristof and WuDunn are the first married couple to win a Pulitzer in journalism, which they won for their coverage of China’s Tiananmen Square democracy movement. They have co-written three books, A Path Appears, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power, and Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Half the Sky was made into a four-hour PBS documentary of the same name that aired in 2012. A Path Appears was made into a three-part PBS series that aired in 2015.

Tawakkol Karman

The third Hanway Lecture in Global Studies on April 7, 2015 featured Tawakkol Karman, a journalist, human rights activist, and politician in Yemen. Karman has played a major role in the peace-building movement and revolution, protesting for human rights and against government corruption, in her country. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her leadership in the non-violent fight for women’s rights and peace. She was the first Yemeni, the first Arab woman, and the second Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and at the time was the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate at age 32. 

General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)

The second Hanway Lecture in Global Studies featured General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), on Oct. 22, 2013. General Powell filled the second Hanway Lecture in Global Studies with humor and behind-the-scenes anecdotes, as he also made clear to his audience that one of his real passions is ensuring that everyone is able to take advantage of the opportunity offered in the United States.

General Colin Powell Photo Gallery

Tony Blair

The inaugural Hanway Lecture in Global Studies featuring former prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Tony Blair, was held on April 9, 2013. Mr. Blair addressed an audience of nearly 3,000, including 1,300 students. After giving a short introduction, Mr. Blair responded to questions posed by members of the Loyola community. He reflected on his time as prime minister and covered topics including healthcare reform, technology, the Middle East, climate change, and his conversion to Catholicism.

Tony Blair Photo Gallery