Donald Lectures: Year in review

Sufia Langevin- Associate Editor

Thispast year, Bishop’s had the privilege of hosting four fantastic Donald Lectures. Students and Lennoxville community members attended in droves, and the lectures were also live-streamed for alumni and those unable to attend. The lectures are funded by John Donald, a former BU student who graduated in 1960, and who is the star of the short video that plays at the beginning of each lecture. The video is touching and explains the reason for the Donald Lecture Series: to ignite curiosity in the minds of students. This is a large reason why attending the lectures is free, making them accessible for students.

The first Donald Lecture of the 2022-2023 school year was by Elisapie, an Inuk singer-songwriter who performed her own music and spoke about life and her experiences as an activist. The second Donald Lecture was from Eva Kuper, a Holocaust survivor and educator who told the attendees about her personal experience reconnecting with her family history and the importance of anti-genocide activism. The third Donald Lecture was by Jared Fishman, a lawyer and social justice innovator who spoke not only of his upcoming book, Fire on the Levee, but of his work with Justice Innovation Lab. The final Donald Lecture of the year was by Esi Edugyan, an award-winning author who shared the inspiration of her novels, her writing process, and advice for aspiring authors.

All the lectures connected in the overarching theme of the importance of togetherness and empathy in the wake of the pandemic. The year’s Donald Lectures accomplished what they set out to do, inspiring curiosity in students, as can be seen by the high levels of engagement with the speakers during the question period at the end of the events. Many people held on to various aspects of the lecture and were seeking to learn more and gain new perspectives.

Next year will present a new series of speakers, and the community will have the opportunity to hear new perspectives, gain new insights, and get curious about new topics. The community is also invited to nominate people they would like to see host a Donald Lecture, the information for which can be found on the Bishop’s website. Students do require a faculty sponsor to submit a nomination.

Nominations are due early in May. Bishop’s will surely be hosting some wonderful lectures next year.