The Speakers Series is open to the public by subscribing to the Series. The lectures are held from 8-9:30pm on seven Monday evenings, from October through April.
Become a subscriber to the Philadelphia Speakers Series to guarantee your seats to all 7 lectures. You will have the chance to interact with each speaker, as each event will conclude with a question and answer session. Please note that the Philadelphia Speakers Series is only sold by subscription to the entire series - single tickets to individual lectures will not be sold.
Widener University presents the 2012-2013
Philadelphia Speakers Series at The Kimmel Center
The Philadelphia Speakers Series invites you to join us at The Kimmel Center to experience the ultimate in cultural engagement -- seven evenings of diverse opinions, profound insights and fascinating discussion on a broad scope of issues. For the past eight seasons, Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Peace Prize winners, world leaders, statesmen, distinguished journalists, authors and other celebrated personalities have enlightened and inspired our audiences. Join us this season and enjoy a season of heroes and legends. You'll be delighted you did!
The speakers for the 2012-2013 season, which begins this Fall, are:
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States
October 1, 2012 - Monday, 8pm
President Clinton served the United
States during a time of unprecedented
prosperity and change. Now,
President Clinton is a powerful voice
for progress as he shares his unique
insights and observations with audiences
around the world. President
Clinton addresses the challenge of
globalization, emphasizing our growing
interdependence, and points the
way toward a common future based
on shared goals and values.
JEANNETTE WALLS
Bestselling Author of The Glass Castle
October 29, 2012 - Monday, 8pm
In her New York Times bestselling
memoir The Glass Castle,
this award-winning author
describes the nomadic, dysfunctional
and colorful family life of
her childhood. After leaving her
family and attending Barnard
College, she worked as a journalist
in New York for 20 years,
writing for New York Magazine,
USA Today and
MSNBC.com.
LISA LING
Journalist and Host on National Geographic & the Oprah Winfrey Network
November 26, 2012 - Monday, 8pm
Known for her passionate and
in-depth coverage of difficult
stories that mainstream media
tend to overlook, this American
journalist has balanced international
reporting with hosting
her own series, Our America
with Lisa Ling on the Oprah
Winfrey Network, her role as
host of National Geographic
Explorer, and earlier as a cohost
of The View.
P. W. SINGER
21st Century Warfare Expert
January 21, 2013 - Monday, 8pm
Currently a Senior Fellow at
the Brookings Institution, he
is the preeminent specialist on
21st century warfare. In his
work he explores how science
fiction, with its emphasis on
robotics and other technologies,
is now playing out on
modern day battlefields, and
the implications of these
developments on war, politics,
ethics and law in our time.
ERSKINE BOWLES
Co-Chairman of the National Commission
on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
February 25, 2013 - Monday, 8pm
Along with Sen. Alan Simpson,
he was named by President Obama
to co-chair the bi-partisan National
Commission on Fiscal Responsibility
and Reform, commonly referred to
as Bowles-Simpson. Former posts
have included president of the
University of North Carolina
system, White House Chief of
Staff to President Clinton and
administrator of the Small
Business Administration.
VICENTE FOX
President of Mexico (2000-2006)
March 18, 2013 - Monday, 8pm
The first president elected from
an opposition party since 1910,
Fox served as president of
Mexico from 2000 to 2006.
Prior to running for the presidency,
he served as governor
of his home state, Guanajuato,
from 1995 to 1999. Before
entering politics, he worked for
the Coca-Cola Company, rising
from delivery truck driver to
president of Coca-Cola Mexico.
NANDO PARRADO
Miracle Survivor of the Infamous
Plane Crash in the Andes Mountains
April 15, 2013 - Monday, 8pm
On a flight from Uruguay to
Chile for an international rugby
tournament, he and 16 of his
teammates survived for two
months in the Andes Mountains,
where their plane crashed at
18,000 feet. The story of their
ordeal and his ten-day trek
through the Andes that led to
the group's rescue was told in
the book and ensuing motion
picture, Alive.
