Among those visiting Elon this spring as part of the Elon University Speaker Series are the authors of "We are Charleston," Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford and Legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager Tony La Russa.
Elon University’s engaging and exciting lineup of speakers continues this month with visitors from the worlds of civil rights, nonprofits, political science and sports featured this spring.
The 2023-24 Elon University Speaker Series, offered in partnership with WUNC, includes events centered around the theme of “Creating Together” that will offer audiences the opportunity to hear from thought leaders and changemakers impacting the world.
Upcoming speakers in the series include the authors of “We are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel,” Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford, Legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager Tony La Russa, and David and Christopher Gergen, who will lead a discussion about societal challenges and opportunities, and the mindset and skill sets required to help lead positive change in our increasingly fractured world.
Visit the university’s full spring cultural calendar to learn about additional speakers as well as a wide range of musical, theatrical, artistic and other intellectually engaging events.
UPDATED: Monday, February 26
Creating Unity Together: Herb Frazier, Bernard Powers & Marjory Wentworth
A conversation with the authors of “We are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel”
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address
McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts, 6:30 p.m.
Published in 2016, “We are Charleston” recounts the events of the horrific shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, that left nine members of the congregation dead. Two days later, as white supremacist Dylan Roof was appearing in court after being charged with the murders, the families of the nine victims forgave the killer.
“We are Charleston” followed almost a year to the day after the shooting, written by Herb Frazier, Bernard Edward Powers Jr. and Marjory Wentworth. Reginald Hildebrand, associate professor of African American Studies & History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, writes that “In ‘We are Charleston,’ a sharp investigative reporter, a distinguished historian and a gifted poet have blended their skills, their knowledge, and their humanity in order to craft a probing account of and an insightful meditation on what happened to nine people who got caught being Black and trying to be Christian on a warm night in Charleston. This unsentimental yet sensitive book will become a very important part of the way that we remember and honor those nine unique individuals.”
Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets now available at elon.edu/boxoffice.
Thursday, April 4
Creating Opportunity Together: Jonathan Reckford
Nonprofit leader and CEO of Habitat for Humanity
James P. Elder Lecture
Whitley Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Jonathan T.M. Reckford is chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International, a global Christian housing organization that has helped more than 46 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve their homes. Since 2005, when he took the top leadership position, local Habitat organizations in all 50 states and in more than 70 countries have grown from serving 125,000 individuals each year to helping more than 7.1 million people last year build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.
Reckford is the chair of Leadership 18, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Future Council on the Future of Cities for the World Economic Forum, and a board member of the Barron Collier Companies. Named the most influential nonprofit leader in America in 2017 by The NonProfit Times, Reckford is the author of “Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World.”
Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning March 14 at elon.edu/boxoffice.
Wednesday, April 10
Creating Innovation Together: Tony La Russa
Legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager
Elon Law Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation
Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro, 6:30 p.m.
Tony La Russa’s professional career and personal commitments have focused on a passion for baseball, an understanding of organizational leadership, American patriotism, and community connections with an emphasis on the impact and welfare of companion animals.
La Russa’s professional baseball career started in 1963 with the Kansas City A’s when he became Major League Baseball’s first 18-year-old shortstop to start a game. His remaining 15 years as a player, often interrupted by injuries, were spent in the minors with occasional major league stops.
At only 34 years old, La Russa was promoted from a managerial role in the minor leagues to manage the Chicago White Sox. It was the start of a remarkable run that included leadership roles with the Oakland A’s and the St. Louis Cardinals that ended in 2011 following his third World Series Championship. La Russa returned to manage the Chicago White Sox in 2021, and by leading Chicago that year to a Central Division championship, he became the first person to ever manage a team into postseason play in five separate decades.
His baseball Hall of Fame accomplishments include second all-time in career regular season and post-season wins, three World Series championships, six league championships and 15 post-season appearances.
La Russa’s decision to manage baseball teams meant postponing a possible legal career. In the off seasons during his playing career, La Russa earned an industrial management degree from the University of South Florida and, in 1978, a Juris Doctor from Florida State University College of Law. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1979 and remains an inactive member.
Additional event information will be available in January.
Also This Spring
Wednesday, March 20
David and Christopher Gergen, “Leading Authentically in a Fractured World”
The Baird Lecture
The Inn at Elon, 7 p.m.
David Gergen recently retired as a professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. In addition, he has served as a senior political analyst for CNN and works actively with a rising generation of new leaders. David has served as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents of both parties – Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton – and wrote about those experiences in two New York Times best-selling books.
His son, Christopher, has over 25 years of experience building, scaling and supporting systems-based solutions in communities globally. He is the founder of Forward Impact, working with policymakers, philanthropists, investors and innovators seeking to deploy capital into high-impact scalable solutions to address systemic economic inequities. Together, they will reflect on today’s societal challenges and opportunities and the mindset and skill sets required to help lead positive change in our increasingly fractured world.
Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning Feb. 28 at elon.edu/boxoffice.