Institute Programming

The Gary L. McDowell Institute hosts a wide variety of events for students, faculty, and the University community. Institute programming focuses on the history of ideas and stresses the importance of viewpoint diversity as a way of realizing the prospects of leadership.

Participants in the McDowell Student Fellows Program and faculty seminars discuss works that address the place of the classics in a liberal education, freedom of thought and expression, and potential solutions to social and political problems. The Institute is also home to a longstanding lecture series. Open to students, faculty, staff, and the larger Richmond community, the lectures feature some of the world's top scholars and most influential thinkers.

2023-24 Public Lectures 

	Sept. 28, 2023 Why Thomas Sowell Matters Jason L. Riley Senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist for the Wall Street Journal
	Nov. 9, 2023 Don't Cancel the Classics, Broaden and Diversify Them   Dr. Angel Adams Parham Associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia Watch the video. Listen to the audio.
	March 21, 2024 Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life Dr. Zena Hitz  Tutor at St. John’s College and author of "Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life" Watch the video. Listen to the audio.