Point of View Series
The Point of View speaker series began in the fall of 2003 through the generosity of anonymous donors. The last speaker to appear under this banner was Victor Davis Hanson on Nov. 1, 2007. The series was designed to bring to campus a wide variety of voices and opinions that challenge prevailing political and social views.
PAST SPEAKERS
Phyllis Schlafly, Founder of Eagle Forum, Sept. 30, 2003
William Kristol, Editor of The Weekly Standard, March 31, 2005
Dinesh D'Souza, Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institute and Author, Feb. 7, 2006
Richard Gid Powers, Professor in The Graduate Center of City University of New York and the College of Staten Island, March 21, 2006
David Horowitz, Conservative Author/Speaker, April 18, 2006
Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institute, Nov. 1, 2007
Frederica G. Esbenshade Series
In 1980, Harry Esbenshade Jr. wanted to honor his mother, Frederica Good, through an enriching cultural series at Marietta College. She was a nurse who would always participate in everything going on and loved programs of all kinds and subjects. The Esbenshade Series began as the outgrowth of a challenge grant the College received from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This challenge obligated Marietta College to plan a variety of programs to broaden campus understanding of the humanities, arranging programming in a range of disciplines. Harry Esbenshade had just a few reasonable requests, "I insisted there would be a variety in the programs, it would be free, open to the public and advertised in the Marietta and Parkersburg areas."
Thomas Lecture Series
The Thomas Lecture Series, which ran from 1966-77, was named for Andrew U. Thomas ’21 (1901-65). According to Dan McGrew's ... In the Various Branches of Useful Knowledge, “For over a decade, 1966-77, Mrs. Lenore Thomas of Dayton, Ohio, widow of former trustee Andrew U. Thomas (Class of 1922), funded the exceptional Thomas Lecture Series on campus. Its purpose was in furtherance of her husband's efforts to stimulate intellectual ferment in the home community by engaging acknowledged figures from a wide range of fields.” Attorney Thomas was a lifelong benefactor of the College, serving as an alumni trustee from 1957 until his election as a life associate of The Board of Trustees in 1962. He served as President of the Alumni Association and was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. His many contributions to the College were memorialized in the naming of Thomas Hall, opened in 1969 and the establishment of The Thomas Chair, most recently occupied by Dr. James O’Donnell who retired in 2011.
Speakers from 1966-1977
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1. |
Harry M. Caudill |
02-25-1966 |
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2. |
Richard Wilbur |
03-29-1966 |
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3. |
John Carradine |
04-29-1966 |
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4. |
William J. Brennan, Jr. – U.S. Supreme Court Justice |
10-25-1966 |
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5. |
Erwin D. Canham – Editor, Christian Science Monitor |
01-05-1967 |
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6. |
Henry Steele Commager – Historian |
02-10-1967 |
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7. |
Martin Luther King, Jr. – Civil Rights Leader |
03-02-1967 |
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8. |
Bishop James Pike – Religious leader and author |
04-05-1967 |
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9. |
Barry Goldwater – U.S. Senator and presidential candidate |
05-04-1967 |
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10. |
F. Lee Bailey – Attorney and author |
10-13-1967 |
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11. |
Arthur C. Clarke – Author and inventor |
11-02-1967 |
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12. |
Harrison Salisbury – Editor, New York Times |
11-05-1967 |
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13. |
Michael Harrington – Social critic and author |
12-07-1967 |
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14. |
Ralph Nader – Consumer advocate |
02-09-1968 |
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15. |
Bill Sands – Author |
04-30-1968 |
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16. |
David Brinkley – Television news anchor and commentator |
10-12-1968 |
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17. |
Al Capp – Cartoonist |
02-06-1969 |
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18. |
Constantinos Doxiadis – Architect and city planner |
02-14-1969 |
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19. |
Anne Sexton – Poet and experimental dramatist |
02-27-1969 |
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20. |
Walt W. Rostow – Economist and presidential advisor |
05-01-1969 |
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21. |
William Jay Smith – Poet |
05-08-1969 |
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22. |
William F. Buckley, Jr. – Journalist and conservative spokesman |
10-03-1969 |
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23. |
Terence O’Neill – Former prime minister of Northern Ireland |
12-02-1969 |
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24. |
Diane Wakoski – Poet |
12-05-1969 |
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25. |
Lillian Gish – Film actress and author |
02-02-1970 |
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26. |
Sol Linowitz – Diplomat |
02-20-1970 |
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27. |
Roy Innis – Head of Congress of Racial Equality |
04-19-1970 |
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28. |
John Jacob Niles – Musician |
09-05-1970 |
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29. |
David Schoenbrun – Television commentator and author |
09-17-1970 |
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30. |
Stewart Udall – Former Secretary of the Interior |
12-01-1970 |
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31. |
William Kuntsler – Attorney for the “Chicago Seven” |
1971 |
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32. |
Public Opinion Symposium – Senator Bob Packwood; Author Douglass Cater; and Pollster George Gallup, Jr. |
03-28-1971 |
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33. |
Bill Russell – Basketball player and black spokesman |
04-20-1971 |
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34. |
B. F. Skinner – Psychologist and author |
11-09-1971 |
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35. |
Edward Banfield – Political scientist and author |
11-15/16-1971 |
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36. |
Joseph Sittler – Theologian and Cynthia Wedel – Church leader |
02-20/21-1972 |
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37. |
Huston Smith – Philosopher and author |
02-29-1972 |
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38. |
Linus Pauling – Chemist and Nobel Peace Prize winner |
04-12 to 15-1972 |
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39. |
Walter Adams, Economist and former university president |
04-27/28-1972 |
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40. |
David Kaser – Director of libraries at Cornell |
11-01-1972 |
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41. |
Michael Novak – Author and philosopher |
11-16-1972 |
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42. |
Ira Reiss – Sociologist and sexual researcher |
03-27-1973 |
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43. |
Joseph Heller – Author (Catch-22) |
04-04-1973 |
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44. |
Van Rensselaer Potter – Biologist and author (bioethics) |
04-18-1973 |
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45. |
Steve Bell – Commentator and ABC’s Hong Kong bureau chief |
12-06-1973 |
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46. |
Kenneth Boulding – Economist, author, humanitarian |
10-25-1973 |
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47. |
Dick Gregory – Comedian, and civil rights activist |
01-27-1974 |
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48. |
Ed Emberley – Children’s book author and illustrator |
04-23-1974 |
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49. |
Raoul Berger – Constitutional scholar |
09-15-1974 |
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50. |
William Proxmire – U.S. Senator and government spending watchdog |
04-10-1976 |
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51. |
Alvin Toffler – Author and futurist |
10-29-1976 |
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52. |
Story Musgrave – Astronaut |
11-30-1976 |
Other events presented under the Thomas auspices:
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The Little Angels of Korea |
01-29-1967 |
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“Stop the World: I want to Get Off” – performance |
11-10-1967 |
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“Barber of Seville” |
03-10-1968 |
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The Electric Circus – multi-media visual and musical program |
1968 |
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Mainstreams – juried art program |
1968 – 1973 |
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“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” – performance |
11-23-1969 |
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“Your Own Thing” – performance |
1970 |
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Charlie Byrd and Quintet – musical performance |
10-06-1970 |
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“You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” – performance |
09-29-1971 |
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The Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band – musical performance |
10-09-1971 |
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“I Do! I Do!” – performance |
11-21-1971 |
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Tzagane – European Folk Festival |
1972 |
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“Happy Birthday, Wanda June” – Kurt Vonnegut play |
1973 |
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Alpha Omega Players present “Diary of Adam and Eve” |
1973 |
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Kodaly Choir of Hungary |
1974 |
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Freedom of Information in A Democracy: Needs and Limits – Discussion series |
1974 |