Established with the generous support of alumna Penny W. Stamps, the Speaker Series brings respected emerging and established artists/designers from a broad spectrum of media to the School to conduct a public lecture and engage with students, faculty, and the larger University and Ann Arbor communities.

Called "Tantalizing...dynamic... with magnetism and poise so high that he seems to have been born onstage" by the Village Voice, Joseph Keckler is a singer, musician, writer, and interdisciplinary artist whose image rich, humorous performances elevate the banal to operatic intensity. His concerts and performance pieces have been presented by SXSW Music, The New Museum, Joe's Pub, Afterglow, BAM Fischer Center in conjunction with Issue Project Room, Amsterdam's Bellevue Theatre, and many other venues in the U.S. and Europe. He was awarded a 2012 Franklin Furnace Grant as well as a 2012 NYFA Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Work. He was recently featured as a guest performer on BBC America's The Nerdist . His latest piece, I am an Opera, was commissioned by Dixon Place.