Westminster University has long attracted the attention of impressive guest speakers who have brought their knowledge, talent, and expertise to the community. These speakers have varied in their life experiences and fields of study, but all of them have enhanced the student experience and affirmed Westminster’s commitment to fostering important conversations.
Here are some of Westminster’s notable guest speakers over the years.
James Dao
James Dao is a veteran reporter who previously worked at The Record, The Daily News, and The New York Times; he is currently the editorial page editor for The Boston Globe. He held numerous reporting and leadership roles over his 30-year career at The New York Times. During his tenure, The New York Times Op-ed section won a Pulitzer Prize for a graphic narrative about Syrian refugees. In 2019, he gave a lecture at Westminster titled “Opinion Journalism in the Age of Fake News” as part of the university’s annual Kim T. Adamson Lecture in International Studies.
Dr. Robin DiAngelo
Dr. Robin DiAngelo is an author and professor who is best known for coining the term “white fragility,” which she explores more fully in her 2018 book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Dr. DiAngelo has published numerous academic articles and books on race and privilege, and she has spent over 20 years conducting racial-justice training for schools, universities, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. She spoke as part of Westminster’s B.W. Bastian Foundation Diversity Lecture Series in 2015, giving a lecture titled “Racism’s Adaptations Since the Civil Rights Movement.”
Dr. M Jackson
Dr. M Jackson is a geographer, glaciologist, and National Geographic Society explorer, whose research focuses on the transformation of glaciology and climate change. Jackson has spent more than two decades studying ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. As part of her work and research, she examines the effect of both glaciers and climate change on ice-centric communities. During her 2021 lecture at Westminster, Jackson shared insights from two of her books, While Glaciers Slept: Being Human in a Time of Climate Change and The Secret Lives of Glaciers, which trace the results of climate change on physical and human geography.
Eman Mohammed
Eman Mohammed is an award-winning Palestinian-American photojournalist and Senior TED fellow. For the first decade of her work, she focused on documenting the life of Palestinians under the Israeli occupation and ongoing siege in the Gaza Strip. She found refuge in focusing on long-term photo essays that tackle human rights issues and challenge stereotypes related to being one of the few female photojournalists in a male-dominated field. During her 2022 lecture at Westminster, Mohammed shared that she hopes her work captures the nuanced dynamic of culturally sensitive communities to challenge the “Us vs. Them” mentality.
Dr. Martha C. Nussbaum
Dr. Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, with appointments in the Philosophy Department and the Law School at the University of Chicago. Dr. Nussbaum has written and spoken widely on the human condition, addressing emotions in political life, feminist philosophy, human vulnerability, and the value of liberal education. Her books on philosophy, gender studies, law, and education are highly influential in their fields; and Dr. Nussbaum has won numerous national and international awards, as well as over 60 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. Her 2019 lecture, part of the Westminster Tanner-McMurrin Lecture Series, examined how anger can be transformed into constructive action and hope to prevent future harm.
Robert Redford
Robert Redford is an actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist who spoke at Westminster’s 2013 commencement ceremony, sharing his feelings of alignment with the university’s ideals of social responsibility, social service, and creativity. Along with his extensive career as an actor and director, Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, which promotes the development of emerging screenwriters and directors.
Thomas E. Ricks
Thomas E. Ricks is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the author of five New York Times bestsellers, and a military-history columnist for The New York Times Book Review. He was a special military correspondent for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal and is best known for his reporting and analysis on the US military, defense policy, and international conflicts. In 2010, Ricks spoke to a packed concert hall at Westminster about misinformation surrounding the Iraq War.
–Sabey Soto ('25)
Westminster will welcome game designer and future forecaster Jane McGonigal, PhD, on Friday, September 12, 2025, as part of the B.W. Bastian Foundation Diversity Lecture Series and the sesquicentennial Westminster Weekend. Get your tickets for the event and check out the full schedule of Westminster Weekend events.
Visit the campus calendar for all upcoming guest speaker events.
Robert Redford speaks at Westminster University's 2013 commencement ceremony
