New Albany Lecture Series

Students have said that the experience of attending New Albany Lecture Series events has changed their worldview, sparked their desire to learn, and inspired them to pursue ambitious career goals.

[6] In a typical example, more than 1,000 students representing 29 schools in central Ohio participated in a New Albany Lecture Series program featuring Newt Gingrich and Valerie Jarrett in January 2020.

[7] In discussing the program, Jarrett, a former advisor to President Barack Obama, said that New Albany’s efforts to promote civil discourse should be emulated “in schools, on college campuses and on factory floors across America.”[7] Isabel Wilkerson, a bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner in journalism, kicked off the series in October with a virtual visit, speaking on issues involving social justice.

[14][15] Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, engaged in a dialogue on stage in New Albany on January 28, 2020, before students from 29 local schools.

[18] The final event of the season, a May 1 lecture featuring Harvard law professor and Bloomberg columnist Noah Feldman and CNN senior analyst and bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin, was also the first program for the New Albany Center for Civil Discourse and Debate, a platform for students and residents to come together and discuss opposing views freely, passionately and respectfully.

[20] The 2017–2018 New Albany Lecture Series also included a presentation by Emmy Award-winning news anchor and author Charles Osgood, who shared inspiring stories from his professional career in television broadcasting, and a presentation by noted journalist and author Elizabeth Vargas, “Overcoming Anxiety: A Private Struggle, A Public Recovery.”[21] Presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan participated in New Albany Lecture Series programs in October 2016.

[23] Petraeus said of the event, “It’s wonderful to be part of a community that clearly places so much emphasis on education.”[24] A New Albany Lecture Series program in January 2017 featured speaker Patrick J. Kennedy, a former congressman and leading advocate for mental health and substance abuse care, research and policy.

[35] The panelists discussed how the city’s Georgian brick architecture, central school campus, and pastoral common areas were influenced by Thomas Jefferson’s design for the University of Virginia and other traditional sources.