The Dale E. Benson Lecture Series in Business and Economic History
Supported by a generous endowment from the Benson Family, the Dale E. Benson Lecture in Business and Economic History is designed to bring leading experts in the fields of history, business, and economics to campus to address the PLU community.
Along with the business and economic history curriculum, the lecture is designed to encourage the study of business organizations, entrepreneurs, workers, products, and consumers, as well as the economic forces that have shaped contemporary culture and society. The program encourages historical reflection, creative problem solving, and ethical leadership across campus.
Please visit the official lecture page for more information, and stay tuned for our announcement regarding the 2025 lecture.
Paul O. Ingram Lecture
Held every other year, this lectureship celebrates the work of Professor Emeritus Paul O. Ingram. These lectures continue Dr. Ingram’s work in extending understandings of all religions through scholarship and teaching in comparative religions and interreligious dialog, by bringing to campus scholars whose work exemplifies the comparative, descriptive, and analytic methods that define the field.
To see previous years’ speakers and to learn more about the Paul O. Ingram lecture, please visit the 2024 lecture page.
The David and Marilyn Knutson Lecture
Established in 2006 by Marilyn Knutson (’59) after the death of her husband, former Religion Professor David Knutson (’58), the David and Marilyn Knutson Lecture is offered annually, free of charge, to the entire PLU campus, community, and public.
For information regarding this year’s conference, and to see a list of the previous years’ speakers, please visit the event page.
Koller Menzel Memorial Lecture
Named after PLU alum Heather Koller, the Koller Lecture was first held in 1996 as a unique dialogue on “Confronting Death: Who Chooses, Who Controls?” by Dax Cowart.
When PLU Philosophy Professor Paul Menzel entered phased retirement in 2008, the Koller family asked that the lecture be renamed to include him also.
To learn more about Heather Koller and Paul Menzel, and the origin of the lecture series that is named for them both, please visit the Koller Menzel Memorial Lecture homepage.
Lemkin Lecture Series
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-born Jew who escaped from Nazi-controlled Poland during the war, was a tireless fighter for human rights, eventually compiling his studies on Nazi occupation into a book, “Axis Rule in Occupied Europe“. It was in this book that Lemkin created a new word to describe what he termed “the crime with no name”, that word being “genocide”: a state sponsored, coordinated attempt to annihilate a national group of people.
So dedicated to preventing further genocides was Lemkin that he spent all of his days, at his own expense, at the United Nations Organization, working to convince delegates to support his draft of the Genocide Convention, which was eventually approved on 9 December, 1948.
Nominated twice for a Nobel Peace Prize before his death in 1959, Raphael Lemkin was the recipient of several awards and recognitions.
To learn more about this tireless crusader of human rights and the lecture series and scholarship named in his honor, please visit the Raphael Lemkin homepage.
Lutheran Studies Conference
PLU has been a lively center for the study of Lutheran higher education and the global Lutheran tradition since its beginnings in 1890.
Established in 2011 by PLU Board of Regents, the first University Professor of Lutheran Studies was Dr. Samuel Torvend, of the Department of Religion. Dr. Marit Trelstad, also of the Religion Department, is the second person nominated and confirmed in this endowed University Chair.
Lutheran Studies at PLU welcomes students, faculty, staff, and alumni into this global network, into the significant dialogue between cultures as we engage the pressing economic, political, and social issues of the new millennium.
To learn more about Lutheran Studies at PLU and the Annual Lutheran Studies Conference, please visit the Lutheran Studies Conference page.
Natalie Mayer Endowed Lecture Series
The late Kurt Mayer escaped Nazi Germany as a child in 1940 on one of the last ships to transport Jewish refugees to America.
Eventually Kurt found his way to Tacoma and connected with PLU by way of an invitation to speak to Chris Browning’s class about the Holocaust. Despite some initial skepticism, he audited the class — thus kindling a relationship that culminated in a decade of service as a Board of Regents member, the blossoming of the university’s Holocaust studies program and the establishment of the endowed Kurt Mayer Chair in Holocaust Studies.
Kurt’s daughter, Natalie Mayer, wanted to expand on her father’s message to never forget the past and keep the conversation going throughout the year in the form of an interactive experience for students and community members that focused more on present-day issues around the world.
Natalie carried on her family’s legacy. But more than that, she changed that legacy to keep up with a changing world.
“None of us can do anything about changing the past. We can be hopeful for a better world in the future if we all do our part.”
To learn more about Natalie Mayer and her own enduring legacy, please visit the Natalie Mayer Endowed Lecture Series homepage.
Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education
The Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education annually provides educators, students, and community members a way to use the lessons of the Holocaust to empower themselves and others to challenge prejudices, violence, and other forms of dehumanization.
Each conference offers opportunities to learn from major scholars whose research focuses on the Holocaust. Conference sessions also highlight interdisciplinary approaches to Holocaust and Genocide Studies, with especially strong attention given to the arts, humanities, social sciences, and professional studies (including that of education).
Through the strong and generous support of the Kurt Mayer Endowed Chair in Holocaust Studies and other donors, the first Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education was held at Pacific Lutheran University in 2007. Recent conference themes include the Nazi plunder of Jewish valuables, along with belated efforts at restitution (2012), empowerment (2013), and survivors and rescuers (2014).
Additionally, the Powell-Heller Conference showcases the research and projects of Pacific Lutheran University faculty, staff, and students. As the first university in the Pacific Northwest to offer a minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, PLU is proud of its long-standing record of excellence in Holocaust studies and its dedication to building partnerships with the Holocaust Center for Humanity and other organizations, educational programs, and individuals with missions that focus on teaching current generations about what happened in the Holocaust and the importance of engaging antisemitism and other forms of hatred and discrimination.
To learn more about the Mayer family, see conference archives, and explore more about the conference through its years, please visit the the About page and it’s associated drop-down menu pages.
The Walter C. Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture
Dr. Walter C. Schnackenberg (1917-1973) graduated from Pacific Lutheran College in 1937 and returned to Pacific Lutheran University in 1952 as Associate Professor of History and Political Science, becoming a Professor of History in 1958. He was chairman of the Department of History from 1963 until 1973, and served as faculty representative to the Board of Regents during the 1972-73 academic year.
One of Dr. Schnackenberg’s most frequently expressed wishes was that Pacific Lutheran University might establish a lectureship which would, on a regular basis, bring to the campus distinguished members of the world academic community to discuss significant topics of historical interest. Accordingly, the Department of History and the Schnackenberg family announced on February 8, 1974, the creation of the Walter C. Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture, to be inaugurated during the 1974-1975 academic year.
To see a list of past lecturers, please visit the Walter C. Schnackenberg Endowment page.
Visiting Writer Series
The Visiting Writer Series at PLU is sponsored by the English Department, with support from the Office of the Provost.
To see upcoming events and past Visiting Writers, please visit the series homepage.