Pitzer College hosts a number of endowed lectures throughout the academic year, made possible by generous donations from patrons, donors and alumni. Invited speakers explore topics from a diversity of fields including art, business, science, politics, racial justice and the humanities.
Ellis and Ann (Compton) Stephens established the Compton Foundation Visiting Fellows Endowed Fund in 1981 through the generosity of the Compton Foundation. Mrs. Stephens’ daughter, Rebecca DiDomenico ’81, graduated from Pitzer College in 1981 and now serves as president of the Foundation.
The Fund was created for the purpose of bringing to the Pitzer campus distinguished and interesting individuals who are admirably and passionately engaged in world affairs. Visiting speakers hail from a diversity of fields, including art, politics, education, business and research.
Pictured: Lilith Mahmud
Past Lectures
| Year | Speaker | Lecture Title | Links |
| 2018 | Jody David Armour | Unconscious Bias: The Social Construction of Black Criminals | Watch |
| 2017 | Lilith Mahmud | Fascists, Communists, and the Masons: Conspiracy Theorizing in the New World Order | |
| 2016 | Jennifer Morgan | Accounting for ‘The Most Excruciating Torment:’ Trans-Atlantic Passages | |
| 2016 | Amat Alsoswa, Former Minister for Human Rights (Yemen) | Yemeni Women’s Rights as Human Rights | |
| 2015 | Rachel Lee | Viral’s Undiscriminating Spiral: Experiments in Synthetic Biology and the End of Politics | |
| 2014 | Petra Kuppers | Disability Culture: Experimental Social Practice | |
Compton Foundation Visiting Fellows Lecturers 2014-2018
Pitzer College’s Distinguished Scientist Endowed Lecture Series brought prominent speakers in the sciences to campus to share their expertise and insights into the universe around us. Started in 2014, the Distinguished Scientist Lecture has featured noted scientists and researchers such as University of Utah Biology Professor Nalini Nadkarni and Nigel Taylor of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
Pictured: Nalini Nadkarni
Past Lectures
| Year | Speaker | Lecture Title | Links |
| 2018 | Ulysses J. Sofia, Astrophysicist | The Sun, the Scientific Method, and the Corruption of Science | Watch |
| 2017 | Nalini Nadkarni, Scientist | Tapestry Thinking: Weaving the Threads of Humans and Nature | Watch |
| 2014 | Dr. Nigel Taylor | Biotech and its Impact for Smallholder African Farmers | |
Distinguished Science Lecturers 2014, 2017, 2018
The Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative Speaker Series is part of the College’s efforts to infuse racial justice throughout Pitzer’s academic and campus life while examining the College’s own policies and practices and exploring how Pitzer can be a broader agent of change.
Pictured: Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens
Past Lectures
| Year | Speaker | Lecture Name | Links |
| 2022 | Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens | Racial Justice Initiative Distinguished Lecture | Watch |
| 2021 | Cecilia Menjívar, UCLA Professor of Sociology | Post-Detention Experiences of Central American Asylum Seekers in the United States | Watch |
| 2021 | Dina Gilio-Whitaker | Environmental Justice in Indian Country | Watch |
| 2021 | Karam Dana, Founding Director, American Muslim Research Institute | The Politics of Belonging and Exclusion: Orientalism and Radicalization of Arabs and Muslims in the US | Watch |
Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative Lecturers 2021-2023
The annual Pepper Distinguished Visiting Artist Lecture is made possible by the Murray Pepper and Vicki Reynolds Pepper Distinguished Visiting Artists and Scholars Endowed Fund at Pitzer College. Established in 2007, the fund helps bring critically acclaimed artists and scholars to campus to hold seminars, workshops, public talks, and one-on-one conversations with students. The fund is named after Trustee Emeritus Murray Pepper and Vicki Reynolds Pepper, long-term supporters of the College and the grandparents of David Pepper ’17 and Morgan Pepper ’12.
Pictured: Father Gregory Boyle
Past Lectures
| Year | Speaker | Lecture Title | Links |
| 2022 | Lauren Bon | Bending the River | Watch |
| 2022 | Beatriz Cortez and rafa esparza | In conversation | |
| 2021 | Sadie Barnette, Rodney Barnette, and Ericka Huggins | In conversation | Watch |
| 2019 | Fr. Gregory Boyle, founder, Homeboy Industries | Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion | Watch |
| 2019 | Sesshu Foster and Arturo Ernesto Ramirez | Recent Rupture Radio Hour (The East L.A. Dirigible Tapes) | |
Murray Pepper and Vicki Reynolds Pepper Distinguished Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecturers 2019-2022
Pitzer College’s Stephen and Sandra Glass Annual Humanities Lecture showcases leading international figures in the humanities, enriching the cultural life of The Claremont Colleges community.
The annual Glass Humanities Lecture is named in honor of John A. McCarthy Professor Emeritus of Classics Stephen L. Glass, one of the Pitzer’s 11 founding faculty members, and his wife, Dr. Sandra Glass. It is made possible by the support of Pitzer alumna Nancy Rose Bushnell ’69.
Pictured: Ishion Hutchinson
Past Lectures
| Year | Speaker | Lecture Title | Links |
| 2022 | Carolina Caycedo, Artist | Spiral for Shared Dreams | Learn more |
| 2021 | Ishion Hutchinson, Poet | Little Music a listening | Learn more |
| 2019 | Moussa Sene Absa, Director | Niit Nitki | |
| 2018 | Jeffrey C. Stewart, Author and Professor | Cosmopolitanism and Culture: Alain Locke’s Vision of 21st Century America | Watch |
| 2017 | Ariella Azoulay | Plunder: The Transcendental Condition of Modern Art and Community of fabri | |
Stephen and Sandra Glass Annual Humanities Lecturers 2018-2022
