Voices of Discovery
Leading scientists, explorers and thought leaders who have left an indelible mark on the way we view the world
Baldwin Wallace University is pleased to offer another "Voices" speaker series during the 2023-24 academic year, including a campus-wide Path of Totality Solar Eclipse event on Monday, April 8, 2024.
Tickets and Information
All events are free, and some may have limited seating or require tickets. See individual event pages for details. Guests may park in any BW lot. Please do not park on city streets.
The BW "Voices" Tradition
With the support of generous donors and underwriters, BW annually brings to campus top speakers and performers, often around a theme, to challenge and inspire students.
In recent years, "Voices" lineups have featured award-winning actor Sterling K. Brown, CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, "Shark Tank" entrepreneur Daymond John and others.
Past events
Enduring Questions: The Mark Collier Lecture Series (EQLS)
A look beyond: AI and the next frontier for business
Featuring Paul Roetzer, Marketing AI Institute
Wednesday, September 20, 7:30 p.m.
Paul Roetzer is founder and CEO of Marketing AI Institute, and founder of Ready North (formerly PR 20/20), HubSpot’s first partner agency.
He is the author of “Marketing Artificial Intelligence” (Matt Holt Books, 2022), “The Marketing Performance Blueprint” (Wiley, 2014) and “The Marketing Agency Blueprint” (Wiley, 2012). He is also the creator of the Marketing AI Conference (MAICON).
As a speaker, Roetzer is focused on making AI approachable and actionable for marketers and business leaders. A graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Roetzer has consulted for hundreds of organizations.
He has presented on the current and future potential of AI to leaders at Fortune 500 companies as well as audiences at major conferences including: Content Marketing World, INBOUND, BrightEdge Share AI, ContentTech Summit, MarketingProfs B2B Forum, SXSW, Traffic & Conversion and Yext ONWARD.
Burrell Observatory Lecture Series
Back to the Moon: NASA's Artemis Moon Mission
Featuring Jeffrey Woytach, NASA Glenn Research Center
Saturday, September 23, 7:30 p.m.
Jeffrey Woytach, engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center, will present a lecture on NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the moon. Named for the Greek god of the Moon and sister of Apollo, the Artemis system consists of an Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts from Earth to lunar orbit and back, launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The SLS is the most powerful rocket ever built.
Artemis 1, launched on November 16, 2022, was a successful uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. It returned on December 11, 2022. Artemis II is the second scheduled mission. It will be the first crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft. It is currently planned to be in November 2024. The crewed Orion spacecraft will perform a lunar flyby and return to Earth.
After the lecture, the Burrell Observatory will be open for viewing, weather permitting.
Enduring Questions: The Mark Collier Lecture Series (EQLS)
How AI can enhance our memory, work and social lives
Featuring Tom Gruber, Humanistic.ai
Wednesday, October 18, 8 p.m.
Tom Gruber is an impact advisor at Humanistic.ai, AI product developer, inventor, designer, humanist and ocean advocate.
He was cofounder, CTO and head of design for the team that created Siri, the first intelligent assistant for everyone. In 2010, Siri was purchased by Apple and remains central to the user experience of all Apple products. Today, Siri is used more than 25 billion times a month in dozens of languages around the world.
Marting Humanities Lecture Series
All too Humanist?
Featuring Dr. Katra Byram, The Ohio State University
Thursday, October 19, 5:30 p.m.
Dr. Byram, Associate Professor of German, will discuss what tiny houses and a 19th-century Austrian mansion say about life in a time of ecological crisis.
Her first book, "Ethics and the Dynamic Observer Narrator: Reckoning with Past and Present in German Literature," examines 19th- and 20th-century novels to investigate the relationship between modern identity, narrative form and German efforts to reckon with social and historical change.
She is currently at work on two projects: one exploring how ecological crisis affects our ideas and stories about what it means to be a human self and the other examining how gender has shaped German memories of WWII.
Byram has recently discussed her work publicly with Professor David Staley on the College of Arts and Sciences Voices of Excellence from Arts and Sciences podcast, with Professor Frederick Aldama on his Professor Latinx YouTube channel and at TEDxOhioStateUniversity 2020. She is also a core member of Project Narrative and co-editor of the Ohio State University Press book series Theory and Interpretation of Narrative.
Burrell Observatory Lecture Series
Your Friendly Neighborhood Galaxies
Featuring Dr. Amy Sardone, The Ohio State University
Friday, October 20, 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Amy Sardone, National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, will present a lecture on the galaxies closest to our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The Milky Way is not alone in the Universe. Our Galaxy and its neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, are locked together by gravity. Caught along with them are a host of 30-50 smaller galaxies. Together, they make up the Local Group.
After the lecture, the Burrell Observatory will be open for viewing, weather permitting.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration/Enduring Questions: The Mark Collier Lecture Series (EQLS)
It Starts with Me: The Quest for Peace and Justice 60 Years Later
Thursday, January 18, 6 p.m.
Join the MLK Commemoration Committee in this opportunity to hear from an esteemed panel and engage in dialogue with those in attendance. How can peace and justice start with you right here at Baldwin Wallace University?
Panelists:
Myesha Watkins, Executive Director, Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance
Dr. Craig Hovey, Executive Director, Ashland Center for Nonviolence, Ashland University
Otis Moss Jr., Civil Rights Leader and Friend of Rev. Dr. King
Sponsored by the Center for Inclusion, Academic Affairs and Enduring Questions: The Mark Collier Lecture Series.
Burrell Observatory Lecture Series
AI: The Good, the Bad and the Ethics: A Panel Discussion
Featuring Drs. Brian Krupp, Jennifer Perry and Kelly Coble
Friday, January 26, 7:30 p.m.
Drs. Brian Krupp (computer science), Jennifer Perry (psychology) and Kelly Coble (philosophy) will present a panel discussion on artificial intelligence.
In this panel, they will discuss technological, psychological and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence. The professors will apply perspectives from their disciplines to assessing risks, harms and benefits of AI.
We are asking the public to submit questions. Please send your AI questions to gkader@bw.edu.
After the lecture, the Burrell Observatory will be open for viewing, weather permitting.
Burrell Observatory Lecture Series
The Great American Eclipse
Featuring Dr. Bill Janesh of Case Western Reserve University
Friday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Bill Janesh from the Case Western Reserve University Astronomy Department will present a lecture on the Great American Eclipse passing through Northeast Ohio on April 8, 2024.
After the lecture, the Burrell Observatory will be open for viewing, weather permitting.
Marting Lecture Series
Featuring Dianne McIntyre
Friday, March 22, 7 p.m.
Dianne McIntyre is regarded as an artistic pioneer, with an impressive career spanning four decades with choreography for dance, theatre, television and film.
Charles E. Spahr Chair in Managerial and Corporate Ethics & The Carmel Boyer School of Business Career Catalyst Series
AI: Innovate with Eyes Wide Open
Panel Discussion
Wednesday, March 27, 6:30 p.m.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere; large companies are pouring trillions of dollars into it. Organizations are rapidly integrating AI into their business models to stay competitive during this technological revolution. But where is AI leading us? Who will regulate this growing industry? How will communities, industries and workers be affected by this? And most importantly, how will our safety and privacy be affected?
Join our panel of experts for a discussion about the ethical issues embedded within this new wave of technology. Our speakers will explore critical topics such as intellectual property protection, consumer safety, managing bias, workplace changes, national security and what it means to be human. We'll also speculate on the future of AI, pondering how today's ethical decisions will shape our technological landscape for generations to come.
TOTAL BW ECLIPSE
Monday, April 8, 2 p.m.
BW and most of northeast Ohio will be in the path of totality. Join us on the BW campus for the total solar eclipse event (totality will be reached by 3:10 p.m.). Free solar glasses will be provided while supplies last.
Gary Kader, director of the Burrell Observatory, will share insights and knowledge about the eclipse as events unfold. BW will also offer concessions, activities and entertainment during this rare event.
Harrington Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture
Survival of the Friendliest
Featuring Dr. Brian Hare of Duke University
Monday, April 15, 7 p.m.
Dr. Brian Hare is a core member of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience, a Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology, and Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University and co-author of "Survival of the Friendliest" and "The Genius of Dogs."
Faith & Life Lecture Series
Featuring Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America
Wednesday, April 17, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 18, 10 a.m.
Thursday, April 18, 2 p.m.
Eboo Patel will give three presentations on the theme "We Need to Build." Patel is an author, speaker, educator, interfaith leader and civic leader who believes that religious diversity is an essential and inspiring dimension of American democracy.