Anthony Robles
Barrett, The Honors College and Arizona State University will be hosting Anthony Robles as the 2025 Flinn Foundation Centennial Lecturer.
Centennial Lecture
Event details
Speaker biography
The subject of a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lopez and Jharrel Jerome, Anthony Robles, shares his extraordinary, against-all-odds story of becoming a three-time NCAA champion wrestler, despite being born with one leg. One of the most inspirational athletes in sports history and a true symbol of courage and perseverance, Anthony Robles was born with one leg and grew up to become an unstoppable phenomenon in NCAA wrestling, competing against able-bodied challengers, ultimately winning the NCAA Champion title, and inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Lighting up the stage with his authentic positivity and charisma, Anthony shares with audiences his personal strategies for success: A limitless belief in self, unrelenting determination, and the motivation to do things no one ever thought possible.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Dr. Bernice A. King | "Building History: Continuing the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." |
| 2023 | Laura Linney | "A Forgotten Profession: Reconsidering the Arts as Essential for Success" |
| 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" |