Office of the Chancellor
The Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series
The Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series at UC Riverside launched in 2005 with the goal of facilitating a space for faculty, staff, students, and the wider community to engage in the academic life at UCR and with timely issues from a variety of disciplines. The main objectives of this series are to:
- raise the visibility of UC Riverside as a national and global leader;
- celebrate scholars and practitioners who have made substantial contributions to their profession and/or the larger society;
- engage community members in the Inland Empire around a timely, provocative topic relevant to the UCR community.
Nominees for this program should be people of national and international stature and influence who will provide a compelling presentation of broad interest to the community. Nominators should keep the more general audience in mind when recommending and planning events for the speaker, which will include at least one large public lecture or performance and a reception or other social event. It also may include opportunities to engage in seminars and other organized activities for more specialized audiences.
CDL events will be managed by the Office of the Chancellor, in collaboration with the nominating school, college, or department, and according to campus policies, procedures, and protocols for special events.
Distinguished Lecture Nominations
- Nominations may be submitted by individuals or collectively by a department or other academic unit.
- Nominations should be submitted via the online form. Please note that lectures may be in virtual, hybrid, or in-person formats.
- A committee (consisting of delegates from the Provost’s office, Academic Senate leadership, University Advancement, and Staff Assembly leadership) will review the nominations and submit recommendations to the Chancellor.
Please direct questions about this process to elizabeth.thrush@ucr.edu
Previous Distinguished Lectures
José M. Hernández,
President and CEO of Tierra Luna Engineering,
LLC and Former NASA Astronaut
(February 10, 2021)
Anthea M. Hartig,
Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the Smithsonian's
National Museum of American History
(November 16, 2020)
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva,
James B. Duke Professor of Sociology, Duke University
(January 18, 2019)
France Córdova,
National Science Foundation Director
(November 7, 2018)
Raj Chetty,
Department of Economics, Stanford University
(Dec. 1, 2017)
Joyce Carol Oates,
Award Winning Author
(Feb. 8, 2008)
Amartya Sen,
Nobel Laureate in Economics
(Oct. 26, 2007)
Wole Soyinka,
Nobel Laureate in Literature
(Feb. 7, 2007)
Billy Collins
Poet Laureate
(Feb. 7. 2006)
The Honorable Joseph Ghougassian,
former U.S. Ambassador
(April 18, 2006)
Richard R. Schrock,
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
(Jan. 25, 2006)
Mary Robinson,
Former President of Ireland
and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
(April 1, 2005)
Anthony J. Leggett,
Nobel Laureate in Physics
(March 2, 2005)
Robert Pinsky,
Former U.S. Poet Laureate
(Feb. 3, 2005)