Signature Lecture Series

Originally founded as the Celebrity Lecture Series in 1998 by the College of Arts & Letters and the Dean’s Community Council, the series was later renamed the Signature Lecture Series in 2007. 

The Signature Lecture Series enables opportunities for notable public figures to interact and engage with MSU faculty, students, staff, alumni, and greater community through conversations and wide-ranging discussions of contemporary ideas, social issues, and creative achievements in the arts and humanities.   

Support for this series has come from sponsors within the College of Arts & Letters, Michigan State University, the MSU alumni community, and local and state communities. This generosity has helped us bring to campus some of the most illustrious scholars, critics, novelists, poets, film producers, and creative artists of our time.

2024 Signature Lecture Series

Birding While Black with Dr. J. Drew Lanham

March 12, 7 p.m. in the MSU Kellogg Center Auditorium

“Everyone has a bird story. EVERYONE,” says Dr. J. Drew Lanham in his book Sparrow Envy.  

On March 8, he’ll share about his experiences across the arts and sciences as an ecologist, poet, and essayist. He’ll also explore racial and social themes connected with access to natural spaces. 

This event is open to the MSU community and public. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.

Past Lecture Series Speakers

Outdoor portrait of a man with short dark hair, glasses, a beard, and a dark blue shirt.

Dr. Drew J. Lanham

Ann Hamilton

Claudia Rankine

Trevor Noah

Soledad O’Brien

Isabel Wilkerson

Ken Burns

E. L. Doctorow

Suzan-Lori Parks

Sir Ken Robinson

Oliver Stone*

Richard Ford

Maya Angelou

*Photo of Oliver Stone by Gage Skidmore