This speaker series is designed to encourage the campus community to think – and talk with one another – about what it means to develop an informed opinion and stand your ground when challenged; and about changing your mind in light of new evidence, different perspectives, and serious reflection. In our Fall 2026 installment we take up the topic of the university itself at a time when its value and values have come under attack amidst calls for reform.

In University: A Reckoning, Lee C. Bollinger, president emeritus of the University of Michigan and Columbia University, offers a bold defense of institutions of higher education as an essential source of truth-seeking in diverse democratic societies. "The university must be defended," he argues, "if the American experiment is to continue." Drawing from his new book and from decades as an academic leader Bollinger will explore the challenges facing higher education today and what universities can and should do to insure the conditions necessary for open inquiry and meaningful intellectual exchange. 

Join us for a keynote, followed by a moderated conversation and audience Q&A, with a reception afterward offering an opportunity to continue the discussion with fellow members of the university community. Demetri Morgan, associate professor in the Marsal Family School and Faculty Director for the Life Changing Education Theme Year will serve as moderator; the event will be introduced by Martha Pollack, former president of Cornell and former provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the U-M.

The first 100 in-person registrants will be placed in a lottery for a complimentary copy of the book, University: A Reckoning.