Annenberg Visiting Scholars Program

In 2006, the Annenberg Foundation awarded Principia College a $1 million grant to endow a Visiting Scholars Program designed to draw leading scholars, diplomats, writers, and civic and business leaders to Principia for short-term teaching and speaking opportunities. Since the program's founding, more than a dozen visiting scholars have enriched student learning and engaged the broader community. 

All talks by Annenberg Visiting Scholars are free and open to the public. 

For additional information, contact the Office of the Dean of Academics.

Annenberg Scholars for 2019–2020

Rob Fraser, photographer; Harriet Fraser, writer

Sponsored by Dr. Heidi Snow and Dr. John Lovseth

On campus October 6 through October 11, 2019
All-campus talk as part of the International Perspectives Conference, date and time TBD on October 10–12, 2019 in Wanamaker Hall

Rob has worked as a photographer for a newspaper and for the RAF, and when he left the service in 1990, he began his career as a freelance photographer. Harriet graduated Manchester University with a degree in Comparative Religion. After graduation, she began writing for Rough Guides, beginning with the First Edition of the Rough Guide to India. She has worked with the Wordsworth Trust as one of their community of writers. The Frasers live in Cumbria where they are passionate about the Lake District environment. Their work has focused around trees and the complexity of the environment. Their artistic work invites the viewer and reader to enter contemplatively into nature.

Learn more about Rob and Harriet Fraser.

Dr. Julie L. Snorek, Social Ecologist

Sponsored by Dr. Nick Johnson

On campus February 15 through March 7, 2020
All-campus talk on February 20, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall

Dr. Snorek is a social ecologist and is currently a post-doctoral researcher in Environmental Studies at Dartmouth. Her focus is on how adaptation to social ecological change is shaped by social networks, institutional models, and cultural norms. Julie’s scholarship focuses on intercultural communication and the intersection between globalization and communications across culture, particularly in terms of global problem solving. Julie has wide-ranging international experience, particularly (but not limited to) Africa. She writes, “Two research projects I'm currently proposing focus on 1) how cultural models such as 'ubuntu' in South Africa shape the ways in which broad-scale natural resource management is carried out and 2) how human wildlife conflict is managed through social networks within an indigenous community in Namibia.”

Learn more about Dr. Julie L. Snorek.

Dr. George Lewis, Composer, Author, and Musicologist Professor of Music, Columbia University

Sponsored by Professor James Hegarty

On campus April 6 through April 10, 2020
All-campus talk on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Concert of music selected by Dr. Lewis on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in McVay Performing Arts Center

Dr. Lewis is one of the foremost scholars and artists in the field of innovative contemporary music. His creative work focuses on the intersection between technology and artistic creativity. His research centers on the history of the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians based in Chicago and non-idiomatic music improvisation. George E. Lewis is the Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music at Columbia University. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, Lewis’s other honors include a MacArthur Fellowship (2002), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2015), a United States Artists Walker Fellowship (2011), an Alpert Award in the Arts (1999), and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Learn more about Dr. George Lewis.

Annenberg Scholars for 2018–2019

Dane Carlson, Fulbright Scholar

Tuesday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall
“Landscape Past, Landscape Future—Hybrid Landscapes of Nepal's Himalayan Frontier”

Operating between Nepal and the United States, Dane Carlson uses a multidisciplinary lens to develop strategies for adaptation to rapid change across Nepal’s hinterland regions. His work utilizes landscape architecture to respond to change in partnership with communities, many of which lack access to necessary social or economic resources. His use of 21st-century skills to find practical and culturally sensitive solutions to contemporary problems earned him a 2017 Fulbright research grant in Nepal’s trans-Himalayan Mustang district.

Carlson holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Ball State University.

Killian Stokes, Co-founder of Moyee Coffee Ireland

Lecturer on Global Development
Tuesday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall
(In conjunction with the 2018 International Perspectives Conference)

Engaging directly with farmers and local communities in Africa as full partners, Killian Stokes works as a global social entrepreneur, focusing on social justice and the reformation of economic models. He also lectures on business and global development at University College Dublin.

Dr. Gordon Grant, Education Director, North Carolina Outward Bound School

Thursday, February 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall

Dr. Gordon Grant has been involved in experiential education his entire career. He currently heads up the Education Program at North Carolina Outward Bound School, where he leads the design and implementation of the Educators’ Initiative and other wilderness and classroom programs for public, private, and charter schools from Florida to New York City. Grant also works with faculty and students at the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and provides educational design consulting services.

Aurora Robson, Visual Artist

Tuesday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall

A Canadian-American artist who works in sculpture, installation, painting, and collage, Aurora Robson focuses on themes relating to the environment. She creates works made with plastic collected by intercepting the waste system and repurposing plastic into art before it is sent to recycling. While her initial work used common household plastics such as water bottles and caps, she is currently focused on large-scale sculptures made with industrial plastic.

All events are in Wanamaker Hall and admission is complimentary. You may also listen live on Principia Internet Radio.