The Nora and Edward Ryerson Lectures
The 2008 Nora and Edward Ryerson Lecture will take place on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. in the Assembly Hall of International House. This year's lecture, "Equal Respect for Conscience: The Roots of a Moral and Legal Tradition," will be presented by Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics in the Law School, Philosophy Department, and Divinity School.
The 2008 Nora and Edward Ryerson Lectureship Committee, which selected Martha Nussbaum, was chaired by David Rowley. Martin Feder, W. Clark Gilpin, Milton Harris, and Anne Robertson served on the Committee.
History
The Ryerson Lectures grew out of a 1972 bequest to the University by Nora and Edward L. Ryerson, a former Chairman of the Board. It has become a "hallmark of the University," said Hugo Sonnenschein, President Emeritus and the Adam Smith Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College, because of its "rich tradition in celebrating the work of our faculty." It honors excellence in academic pursuits and the “high aspirations we hold for ourselves as a community of scholars."
The faculty selects each Ryerson Lecturer based on a consensus that a particular scholar has made research contributions of lasting significance. In return, the Ryerson Lecturer is asked to reflect on his or her intellectual life and work.
Since the Trustees established the lectures in 1973, they have become important events for the University and have been disseminated widely outside the institution. The continued success of the Ryerson Lectures depends on the quality of the nominations received, and it is the hope of the committee that every member of the faculty will give careful consideration to this matter.
Nominations
Nominations for the 2009 Ryerson Lecturer are now open. Every member of the faculty has been invited to nominate one other member of the University faculty. The Nora and Edward Ryerson Lectureship Committee, appointed by the President, will consider the list of nominees and make a recommendation to him. The 2009 lecturer will be announced in June, 2008. The 2009 Committee includes W. Clark Gilpin, Milton Harris, Kathryn Levin, and Olufunmilayo Olopade. Anne Robertson chairs the Committee.
Previous Ryerson Lecturers
| John Hope Franklin | 1974 | Marshall D. Sahlins | 1992 | |
| Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar | 1975 | Philip Gossett | 1993 | |
| Philip B. Kurland | 1976 | William Julius Wilson | 1994 | |
| Robert E. Streeter | 1977 | Wendy Doniger | 1995 | |
| Albert Dorfman | 1978 | Cass R. Sunstein | 1996 | |
| Stephen Toulmin | 1979 | Eugene N. Parker | 1997 | |
| Erica Reiner | 1980 | Bernard Roizman | 1998 | |
| James M. Gustafson | 1981 | David Bevington | 1999 | |
| Saunders MacLane | 1982 | Leo Kadanoff | 2000 | |
| George J. Stigler | 1983 | Martha McClintock | 2001 | |
| Karl J. Weintraub | 1984 | Susanne Hoeber Rudolph | 2002 | |
| James S. Coleman | 1985 | Lloyd I. Rudolph | 2002 | |
| John A. Simpson | 1986 | Stephen M. Stigler | 2003 | |
| Wayne C. Booth | 1987 | Robert Pippin | 2004 | |
| Janet D. Rowley | 1988 | Robert J. Richards | 2005 | |
| Gary S. Becker | 1989 | Tanya R. Luhrmann | 2006 | |
| James W. Cronin | 1990 | Mark Siegler | 2007 | |
| Stuart M. Tave | 1991 | Martha Nussbaum | 2008 |