Committee on Lectures

The Committee on Lectures is the funding arm of the Student Government for speakers and events. It works to bring to campus a broad spectrum of stimulating lectures, political debates, and academic forums; cultural events, including musical performances and art and dance programs; and entertainment such as film and comedy. The Committee offers financial assistance to registered student organizations that wish to sponsor a public lecture or cultural event. The funds distributed by the Committee on Lectures are student fees allocated by the Student Government.

The Committee is open to a wide variety of programming and strives to be impartial in its consideration. While appeal to the student population is one criterion for event sponsorship, the Committee also recognizes the need to present topics to broaden student awareness.

Free Expression Statement

The Committee on Lectures, comprised primarily of students and funded by Iowa State’s Student Government, works with program staff, campus units, co-sponsors, and student organizations to select and bring speakers to campus. The Committee supports diverse viewpoints on topics of interest to the university community, consistent with the university’s commitment to the First Amendment, while acknowledging some members will have strong views for, or against, certain speakers.

Membership

The Committee on Lectures comprises up to twenty-eight voting members - faculty and staff and students - plus the director and assistant director of the Lectures Program, who serve on an ex-officio basis. Two student chairs are elected from among these members. Committee on Lectures members represent a cross-section of students, academic disciplines, and administrative offices and work in close collaboration with student organizations, academic departments, university offices, and off-campus organizations. They are expected to have the vision and imagination to provide opportunities for students to think, learn, and act in new ways.

The Student Government appoints up to eleven student members and at least two alternate members to the Committee on Lectures, and a cabinet-level official acts as a liaison between the committee and the Student Senate. The Graduate and Professional Student Senate appoints two representatives, and the Memorial Union Student Union Board (SUB) appoints one.

The Office of the Provost, which provides administrative supervision of the Lectures Program, appoints a faculty chair to the Committee on Lectures and approves faculty representatives nominated by each of the colleges. It also appoints at-large members to the committee.

Membership on the Committee on Lectures is open to all members of the university community. Students interested in joining the committee can find an application under the "Lectures Series" then "Join Committee on Lectures" link at the top of the page. The Committee meets monthly during the academic year to evaluate requests for funding and advise student organizations planning events. Meeting schedules are set at the start of each semester.

2024-25 Members

Students

Katie Balsley, Lectures Program Intern
Adelaide Brennan, IRHA
Kolton Eisma, Agricultural Studies, Student Government
Hannah Everhart, Agriculture Communication, Student Government
Jackson Haugh, Political Science
Jennifer Holliday, Agriculture, Student Government
Cloe Hoyt, Lectures Program Intern
Olivia Miller, Environmental Science
Stella Montgomery, Lectures Marketing and PR Assistant
Charity Nya Njeshi, Biomedical Sciences
Lexie Rieken, Lectures Special Events Assistant
Mohamed Saidu, Management Information Systems
Olivia Thompson, Actuarial Science, Student Union Board Representative
Luke Valerio-Garsow, IRHA
 

Faculty and Staff

Katherine Bangert, Human Development and Family Studies (Human Sciences)
Heidi Doellinger, Engineering Administration (Engineering)
Dave Gieseke, Veterinary Medicine (Veterinary Medicine)
Stephen Gilbert, Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering (Engineering)
Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock, Community & Regional Planning (Design)
Melea Licht, University Library
Suzanne Lyndon, Business (Business)
Rebecca Nation (Student Innovation Center)
Sara Parris, Student Health Center
Harman Singh Sangha, Ag and Biosystems Engineering (CALS)
Laurie Smith Law, Honors Program
Alissa Stoehr, Women and Gender Studies (LAS)
Brimah Vonjo Jr., Department of Residence
Amanda Knief, Lectures Program (ex-officio)
Laura Bade, Lectures Program (ex-officio)