The Vernon L. Pack Distinguished Lecture and Scholar-in-Residence program was established through a generous gift from alumnus Vernon L. Pack, a 1950 graduate of the University and resident of Westerville.
In accordance with the terms of the endowment, a Distinguished Lecturer visits the campus every other year to address important current topics that allow the Otterbein community to reflect on ethical, spiritual and social issues.
On alternating years, distinguished scholars are invited to campus to reside for up to one academic year as part of the Vernon L. Pack Scholar in Residence Series to enrich educational experiences for Otterbein students.
This program rotates through five academic areas of the University, including arts, professional studies, science and mathematics, humanities and social sciences.
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2019 Lecture Series Program
Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke is a Native American activist, environmentalist, and former Green Party vice presidential candidate. She works nationally and internationally on the issues of climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice alongside indigenous communities. She made news with her activism against an oil pipeline at Standing Rock and through Honor the Earth, an organization she co-founded with the Indigo Girls.
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2018 Lecture Series Program
Piper Kerman
Piper Kerman’s bestselling memoir, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, chronicles what the author calls her “crucible experience”— the 13 months she spent in the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut.
Join us for her lecture about "The Real Life Story of Orange is the New Black"
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2017 Lecture Series Program
Bryonn Bain
Bryonn Bain is Brooklyn's own prison activist, actor, author, hip hop theater innovator and spoken word poetry champion.
Bringing arts, activism,and education to prisons for over 25 years, Bain's courses on hip hop, theater, spoken word poetry, police abuse and the prison crisis continue to impact youth at Rikers Island, boys Town Detention Center and those incarcerated at Sing Sing prison.
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2016 Lecture Series Program
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, syndicated columnist and host of Democracy Now!, airing on more than 800 public television and radio stations worldwide. She is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” for “developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media.”
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2014 Lecture Series Program - Public Events, Private Lives: Literature and Politics in the Modern World
Salman Rushdie
Sir Salman Rushdie is one of the most celebrated authors of our time—of any time. A brilliant provocateur, he’s penned a handful of classic novels, influenced a generation of writers, and received a Queen’s Knighthood for “services to literature.” He stands as both a pop culture icon and one of the most thought-provoking proponents for free speech today