The Prison Education Program at Auburn hosts four guest lectures in the prison chapel each semester. The guest lecture series has featured prominent Cornell faculty and administrators, visiting scholars, and notable speakers representing various professional fields. The guest lectures expand the variety of subject matter and provide a means for the Cornell community to be introduced to our incarcerated students at Auburn.
For Prospective Guest Lecturers:
One time guest lectures may be proposed to Associate Director Keisha Slaughter (kss227). Guest lectures at Auburn CF are coordinated by Betsye Violette (erc87). The guest lecture series at Auburn has been going on for nearly a decade.
Nearly Complete List of Guest Lecturers:
- Anthony Ong, Professor of Human Development, on positive psychology (January 2018)
- John Sipple, Associate Professor of Developmental Sociology, gave a talk on the Social and Political Context of American Education (November 2017)
- Michael Kotlikoff, Provost and Professor of Molecular Physiology, gave a lecture/conversation on Genetic Modification in the Cell (October 2017)
- Kristin Doughty, Assistant Professor at University of Rochester, shared her work on post-genocide justice in Rwanda (September 2017)
- Debate Event: Cornell Debate Team vs. a Team composed of debaters from Harvard, Stanford and Yale Law Schools (April 2017)
- Stephen Eoannou, author of Muscle Cars (March 2017)
- Caleb Smith, Yale University, Author of The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict (February 2017)
- Adam Levine, Government, on The Political Process (October 13, 2016)
- Phoenix Players Theatre Group will present their performance of “Human Again” (May 25, 2016)
- John Hoddinott, Babcock Professor of Food and Nutrition Economics and Policy, presented on Nutrition and global food policy (April 27, 2016)
- Lawrence Glickman, Stephen and Evalyn Milman Professor in American Studies, presented Part 1 of his lecture on The New Deal vs. Free Enterprise (March 23, 2016)
- Curt Tofteland of Shakespeare Behind Bars, and Tom Magill of Educational Shakespeare Company (ESC) Ltd, on the Impact of Education and Theatre in Prison (February 3, 2016)
- Anna Haskins, Sociology, on The Impact on Children of the Incarcerated (January 27, 2016)
- Sandra Babcock, Clinical Professor of Law, on International Human Rights (November 25, 2015)
- Thomas Gilovich, Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology, on Judgment and Decision-making (October 28, 2015)
- Jamila Michener, Assistant Professor of Government, presented on inequality and democracy (September 30, 2015)
- Jill Frank, Government, on the History of Political Thought (September 15, 2016)
- Eduardo Peñalver, Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law, gave a lecture on the intersection of property law and civil rights struggles (April 7, 2015)
- Ron Harris-Warrick, William T. Keeton Professor of Biological Sciences, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, presented on the neurophysiology of addiction in the brain (March 25, 2015)
- Fredrik Logevall, speaking about the Vietnam War. Logevall is Stephen ’59 and Madeline ’60 Anbinder Professor of History, Vice Provost for International Affairs, and Director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner (was scheduled to speak February 11, 2015 – cancelled due to prison lockdown).
- Svante Myrick, Mayor of the City of Ithaca (November 3, 2014)
- Joseph Margulies, Visiting Professor of Law and Government, Bi-Partisan Criminal Justice Reform: Much Ado About Nothing or the Next Big Thing? (October 8, 2014)
- Jane Juffer, Professor of English and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Cornell University – Becoming/Unbecoming a Woman/Man (September 10, 2014)
- Daryl Bem, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Cornell University – Is there Scientific Evidence for ESP (Extrasensory Perception)? (May 7, 2014)
- Neil Hertz, Professor Emeritus of English, Johns Hopkins University – Pastoral in Palestine (April 9, 2014)
- Judith Appleton, Vice Provost for Land Grant Affairs, Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Immunology in the Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University – The Hygiene Hypothesis (March 12, 2014)
- Robert Scott, Executive Director of Cornell Prison Education Program – Paradigms in Philosophy of Education (March 5, 2014)
- Sean Pica, Executive Director of Hudson Link (September 26, 2013)
- Provost W. Kent Fuchs, Provost of Cornell University (April 4, 2013)
- Paula Ioanide, Assistant Professor, Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, Ithaca College (Spring 2013)
- Neal Zaslaw, Herbert Gussman Professor of Music, Cornell University (February 21, 2013)
- Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Asst. Professor of English, Cornell University (January 30, 2013)
- Michael Smith, Weill Cornell Medical College (November 15, 2012)
- Glenn Martin, Vice President of Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, Fortune Society (November 8, 2012)
- Kim Bostwick, Cornell University (October 11, 2012)
- Keith Taylor, Professor of Asian Studies, Cornell University (March 14, 2011)
- Clint Sidle, Director of the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program in the Johnson School of Management, Cornell University (2010-11)
- Robert Frank, H.J. Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Johnson School of Management, Cornell University (2010-11)
- Matthew Brashears, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Cornell University (2010-11)
- William Goldsmith, Professor of City and Regional Planning and Director of International Studies in Planning, Cornell University (2010-11)
- Roberto Sierra, Professor and Chair of the Department of Music, Cornell University (2010-11)
- Ronald Seeber, Senior Vice Provost and Professor of Industrial Labor Relations, Cornell University (2010-11)
- Denise Riley, Poet, Critical Theorist, and Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large, Cornell University (2010-11)
- Kenneth McClane, W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Literature and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Department of English, Cornell University (Fall 2010)
- Bruce George, co-creator of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam with Russell Simmons (Spring 2010)
- David Skorton, President of Cornell University, on Cornell’s Land Grant Mission (Fall 2009)