Diverse Viewpoints

t Monmouth, there is a tradition of welcoming visionary leaders to campus to engage with our community members on the issues facing society. These events enrich the academic experience for students and enlighten members of the University and local communities.

Although the pandemic necessitated that some events be held virtually last year, the University still welcomed a multitude of distinguished authors, educators, and civic leaders to speak on such diverse topics as social justice, politics and spirituality, and sustainable development. Here are some of the highlights.

The 14th Dalai Lama joined Monmouth students and colleagues for an exclusive livestream conversation on Sept. 21, 2021. His talk, “Our Happiness, Our Health, Our Future: His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Reflections and Conversations on our Happy, Healthy, and Sustainable Future,” focused on the importance of global de-weaponization in order to achieve genuine peace and align with the oneness of humanity. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the event included a question-and-answer session in which the Dalai Lama fielded questions on topics ranging from the threat of climate change to the impact of the pandemic on our mental and spiritual well-being. The talk was accompanied by a weeks-long series of campus events that included panel discussions, a tree planting ceremony, and guided meditations.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker joined in a discussion with Monmouth students on the importance and challenges of putting principles into practice in politics. The conversation—“Are Politics and Spiritual Values Compatible?”—was moderated by Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, and was part of the extended programming offered to the community in connection to the Dalai Lama’s virtual visit.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith took part in a panel discussion on the “Challenges of Human Trafficking: Global to Local” that was sponsored by the School of Social Work. Smith has chaired numerous hearings and is the prime sponsor of five major laws and 17 international resolutions aimed at combating human trafficking in the U.S. and around the world.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine staff writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project, a long-form journalism project that aims to offer a reframed analysis of how slavery shaped American political, social, and economic institutions, was the featured speaker at the virtual kickoff of the Monmouth University Social Justice Academy’s yearlong lecture series on “Combating Racial Injustice Through Education.”

Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D., a queer Black feminist scholar, author, and poet, delivered Monmouth’s 4th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Speaker in Social Justice lecture, during which she emphasized the importance of perseverance and mindfulness for those working to end racial injustice. Organized by the President’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion, the annual event honors Martin Luther King Jr. and his courageous example of social activism.

Ramu Damodaran, former chief of the United Nations Academic Impact, delivered the Global Visionary Lecture “From War to Peace and Human Dignity: The United Nations and a Transformative Global Order.” Hosted by Monmouth’s Institute for Global Understanding and co-sponsored by the Freed Endowed Chair in Social Sciences, Damodaran’s talk explored how the U.N. can offer hope in a post-COVID world in search of global wellness, sustainable development, and lasting peace.

Patrick Radden Keefe, an award-winning writer at The New Yorker, delivered this year’s H.R. Young Lecture. Keefe’s talk focused on his New York Times bestselling book, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, which chronicles three generations of the Sackler family, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin. The event was co-sponsored by the Council of Endowed Chairs, Department of Art and Design, Division of Student Life, Monmouth University Police Department, School of Social Work, Student Government Association, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Jack Ford, an Emmy and Peabody Award–winning journalist, educator, documentary producer, prominent trial attorney, and author, delivered the keynote address at Monmouth’s graduate and doctoral Commencement exercises, as well as at the University’s first-ever all-undergraduate class gathering, where he was presented with the honorary degree Doctor of Humanities. Ford is currently a host of “Metro Focus” on PBS and was most recently a CBS News correspondent for “60 Minutes Sports.”

“Leadership, Civility, and Common Ground in Politics and Public Service,” a new campus conversation series that brings Republicans and Democrats together to help bridge the political divide and advance public good, kicked off in March. State Sen. Vin Gopal, a Democrat and adjunct professor at Monmouth, and former New Jersey Republican State Sen. Joe Kyrillos facilitated a conversation between New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari, a Democrat, and New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho, a Republican, that examined how civil discourse can lead to good public policy. The series is sponsored by the Office of the President with support from the Department of Political Science and Sociology and the Institute for Global Understanding.