The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service recently passed a major milestone when it hosted the 500th free lecture in the Clinton School Speaker Series.
The series began in 2004 when Senator Bob Dole of Kansas delivered the inaugural lecture at the request of his former Senate colleague and Clinton School Founding Dean David Pryor. In 2006, when Skip Rutherford became dean, he expanded the program based on what he had seen while visiting Harvard University.
“I saw so many opportunities for Harvard students to connect with leading academics, newsmakers and world leaders and I wanted our students to have similar experiences,” Rutherford said.
The school now hosts about 100 programs each academic year. Lectures are free and open to the public. Participants have included four Nobel Prize winners; 10 Pulitzer Prize recipients; 30 ambassadors and nine current or former cabinet secretaries.
“We’re a school of public service and it’s part of our service commitment to open these programs so that people all over Arkansas and the region can participate without charge,” said Nikolai DiPippa, the school’s director of public programs.
In addition to the more than 94,000 people who have attended the lectures, more than 55,000 unique visitors have watched lectures online at www.clintonschoolspeakers.com and thousands more have watched them on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and City of Little Rock television public access channels.
“The Clinton School Speakers Series is one of the best things happening in our city,” said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola. “I often highlight it when I’m working on economic development, education and convention and meeting opportunities. It’s a wonderful addition to our city that makes us truly unique. The quality and diversity of the speakers are amazing.”
Clinton School faculty members have also utilized the series in their research and public service work.
“When visiting scholars come to the Clinton School in collaboration with our Center on Community Philanthropy, they participate in the speakers series and it certainly is a meaningful part of their experience here,” said Dr. Charlotte Lewellen-Williams, who directs the philanthropy center.
DiPippa said that in addition to Clinton School students, faculty, staff and visiting scholars, educators and students from other campuses also attend.
“Because we announce speakers a month in advance of their lecture, it gives faculty time to plan or adjust class discussions and schedules,” he said.
Recently, Dr. Don Ernst, a professor of education at the Clinton School, led a “teach in” on education policy before a presentation by Michelle Rhee, CEO of Students First and Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento.
Martha McNair, an English teacher at Fayetteville (Ark.) High School says she watches the speakers regularly on her computer.
“Because of my teaching responsibilities, I can’t get to Little Rock so I watch many of them on-line and encourage others to do so. Having these speakers available online is a great public service for those of us who don’t live in Little Rock,” McNair said.
Clinton School graduate Joanna Klak, who is now living in Srem, Poland, says she watches them too.
“Having attended these programs when I was a Clinton School student, now thousands of miles away, I still enjoy them,” she said.
In addition to its outreach, the speaker series is a recruiting tool for new students.
“One of my classmates did a survey which showed that 66 percent of the students said the speaker series was an important factor in their decision to attend the Clinton School,” said student government president Fernando Cutz of Coral Gables, Florida and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
In addition to the school’s regular speaker series, the Frank and Kula Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture Series is an endowed lecture series the school hosts in partnership with the Clinton Foundation at AT&T.
The Kumpuris Lecture Series was established by Dr. Dean Kumpuris, Dr. Drew Kumpuris and Katherine Anne Kumpuris Trotter in honor of their mother and in memory of their father.
In addition, Clinton School faculty members also bring in classroom speakers in conjunction with their specific curriculum.