Case Western Reserve University’s Think Forum, one of the nation’s longest consecutive-running speaker series, continues this spring with a lineup that brings together powerful authors from the worlds of education, literature and science.
Designed to spark dialogue and broaden perspectives, Think Forum has long been a signature event for the university community and the public, offering opportunities to engage with leading thinkers whose work shapes our understanding of society and the world.
The spring series begins Friday, Jan. 23, with the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, featuring Anthony Jack, associate professor at Boston University and inaugural faculty director of the Newbury Center.
Jack, who was a first-generation college student, has become a prominent advocate for equity in higher education. As author of The Privileged Poor and Class Dismissed, Jack has challenged institutions to reimagine how they support students from all backgrounds.
The convocation begins at 12:45 p.m. in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Grand Ballroom at the Tinkham Veale University Center
Later in the spring, the series welcomes acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín for the F. Joseph Callahan Distinguished Lecture. Tóibín, whose novels Brooklyn, Long Island, and The Master have earned him international recognition and three Booker Prize shortlistings, is celebrated for his evocative storytelling and exploration of identity, family and belonging. His work has garnered numerous honors, including the Costa Novel Award and the IMPAC Award, and his writing spans fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry. Tóibín will speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at The Temple-Tifereth Israel.
The spring lineup concludes with the Millis Lecture, delivered by Claudia de Rham, a theoretical physicist at Imperial College London, former CWRU assistant professor, and winner of the 2020 Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists. De Rham’s book, The Beauty of Falling: A Life in Pursuit of Gravity, chronicles her lifelong quest to understand one of the universe’s most fundamental forces. A passionate advocate for diversity in the sciences and the importance of representation in physics, de Rham will present at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, also at the Maltz Performing Arts Center.
All Think Forum events are free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of university donors, though registration is required. For more information and to reserve your seat, visit case.edu/thinkforum.