Centennial Lecture

Laura Linney

Barrett, The Honors College will be hosting Laura Linney as the 2023 Flinn Foundation Centennial Lecturer.

Speaker biography

Award-Winning Theatre, Film and Television Actress, Laura Linney, speaks about the importance of infusing creativity into all aspects of our lives, both for those in the corporate space and for students. She distinguishes how the arts enrich everything we do and allow us to live fuller, more prosperous lives. She demonstrates how we, as a society, can reconsider liberal arts careers as the important instruments of skills like socialization, interpretation, character building, and originality. It is an intelligent examination of professionalism and creativity, in which one cannot thrive without the other.

History of the Flinn Foundation Centennial Lecture

In 1985, the Flinn Foundation established an endowment to commemorate the University’s 100th year. The gift created the ASU Centennial Lecture, and in 1989 it provided the Barrett Honors College the resources to bring some of the world’s most influential intellects to campus.

In just a few short years, the Centennial Lecture has become one of ASU’s premiere intellectual events featuring noted diplomats, scientists, playwrights, and authors. Each of the women and men chosen as the Centennial Lecturer has added significantly to the strength of the University, and each has provided students and members of the community with a memorable experience.

Year	Presenter	Title
2022	Maria Teresa Kumar	"Our Changing America"
2021	Common	"An evening with Common"
2020	Roxane Gay	"Roxane Gay: With One 'N'"
2019	Jose Antonio Vargas	"Define American: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant"
2018	Norah O'Donnell	"An Evening with Norah O'Donnell"
2017	Titus Kaphar	“Making Space for Black History, Amending the Landscape of American Art.”
2016	Henry Cisneros	"Immigrants: An Essential Ingredient for a Strong America and Our Nation's Future"
2015	Sherman Alexie	"An Urban Indian’s Look at the World and How to be a 21st Century American Nomad"
2014	Sandra Postel	"Understanding the Importance of Urban Water Systems"
2013	Michael Pollan	"Out of the Garden and Onto the Plate: A Writer’s Education"
2012	Sylvia Nasar	“Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius in Modern Times”
2011	Oscar Arias	“For We Have Promises to Keep: Ensuring Peace for Future Generations”
2010	Edward James Olmos	"We're All in the Same Gang"
2009	Joel Meyerowitz	"A Look Behind the Lens"
2008	Leonard Downie, Jr	"Focusing on the Future: Politics, Conflict and the Media"
2007	Anna Quindlen	"The Value of Reading and Writing in a Democratic Society"
2006	Jules Feiffer	"Feiffer on Feiffer: My Life and Funny Times"
2005	Kathleen Sullivan	"Civil Liberties in a Time of National Crisis"
2004	Edward Albee	"The State of Theater and the Arts in America"
2003	Charles Johnson	"Mindfulness and the Beloved Country"
2002	David Halberstam	"America and the World: New Challenges in a Time of Uncertainty"
2001	N. Scott Momaday	"Origins: The Reinvention of the Sacred"
2001	Meave Leakey	"My Life in Science: An Evening with Meave Leakey"
2000	Jonathan Weiner	"Evolution in Action: The View from Darwin's Islands and Benzer's Bottles"
1999	Carlos Fuentes	"A Dialogue for the Americas"
1998	Annie Dillard	"Performance of Beauty and Grace"
1997	James Fallows	"News and Democracy: Knowing Enough to Survive"
1996	Stephen J. Gould	"Pattern and Lack of Progress in the History of Life"
1995	Sir Crispin Tickell	"The Human Hazard: Refugees and Environmental Change"
1994	Lynn Margulis	"Gaia as the Living Earth from Space: Soft Goddess or Hard Science?" - See more at: http://barretthonors.asu.edu/news-events/sig
1992	Susan Sontag	"Traditions of the New"
1991	Robert Coles	"The Iconography of Western American Art"
1990	Robert Coles	"The Spiritual Life of the Hopi Child"