Tayari Jones 42nd Annual Literary Festival Speaker New York Times Best-selling Author and Novelist
Travis Mills President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence Speaker Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and "Recalibrated Warrior"
Amy Webb Co-presented in Partnership with the Norfolk Forum Quantitative Futurist and Professor of Strategic Foresight at the NYU Stern School of Business
2018-2019
Bryan Stevenson Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Speaker Lawyer, Social Justice Activist, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative
Claudia Rankine NEA Big Read and President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence Speaker New York Times Bestselling Poet and MacArthur Award Recipient
Imbolo Mbue 41st Annual Literary Festival Speaker New York Times Bestselling Author of "Behold the Dreamers"
Michael Lewis Co-presented in Partnership with the Norfolk Forum Journalist and Bestselling Author of "The Blind Side, Moneyball, Flash Boys and The Undoing Project"
2017-2018
Tamron Hall Women's Center Speaker Award-Winning Journalist and Host of Deadline Crime
Charles Best Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Speaker Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org
Michelle Alexander President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Speaker New Yok Times Best-Selling Author, Legal Scholar and Social Justice Advocate
Roz Chast 40th Annual Literary Festival Speaker New Yorker Magazine Cartoonist and Author
2016-2017
Douglas Brinkley 39th Annual Literary Festival Speaker CNN Presidential Historian and Professor of History at Rice University
Walter V. Robinson Pulitzer Prize Recipient Portrayed in the Oscar-winning Film "Spotlight" and Editor at Large at Boston Globe
Michele Norris President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence Speaker Former NPR Host and Special Correspondence and Founder of the Race Card Project
Adam Braun Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Speaker Entrepreneur, Best-selling Author and Founder of Pencils of Promise
2015-2016
Birth of an Answer - Multigenerational Panel of African American Filmmakers and Producers - Part of Arts@ODU and the Institute for the Humanities
Edwidge Danticat - MacArthur Fellow and Acclaimed Haitian-American Writer - Part of 38th Annual Literary Festival
Alicia Garza - Social Activist & Co-Creator of the Viral Twitter Hashtag and Movement, #BlackLivesMatter
Alan Gross - Former Cuban Hostage and Humanitarian Aid Worker - Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Speaker
Ai-jen Poo - Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Co-Director of the Caring Across Generations Campaign - Part of Friends of Women's Studies
2014-2015
Guy Kawasaki - Strome Entrepreneurial Center and Strome College of Business Landmark Executive in Residence Speaker; Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Former Chief Evangelist of Apple, Bestselling Author and Chief Evangelist of Canva
Wes Moore - Bestselling Author, Army Combat Veteran and Entrepreneur
Chef Jeff Henderson - 37th Annual Literary Festival Speaker; Award-Winning Chef and New York Times Bestselling Author
Amy Cosper - Vice President and Editor in Chief for Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
2013-2014
Charles Mann - 36th Annual Literary Festival Journalist and Author, Specializing in Scientific Topics
David Titley (USN Ret.) - Director, Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, Pennsylvania State University
Sal Giunta - Medal of Honor Recipient and Author, "Living with Honor"
Robert Edsel - Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture; Writer, Founder and President of the Monuments Men for the Preservation of Art
Christine Brennan - USA Today Sports Columnist, Commentator and Bestselling Author, "Best Seat in the House"
Mark Moffett - Lytton J. Musselman Natural History Lecture; Ecologist, Explorer and Photojournalist
Jose Antonio Vargas - Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist, Founder of DefineAmerican.com and Undocumented Immigrant
2012-2013
Mark Plotkin, Ethnobotonist and Social Entrepreneur
Greg Gumbel, Emmy Award-Winning Sportscaster,Play-By-Play Announcer for The NFL on CBS
Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award-Winning Screenwriter, Director, Film and Television Producer
Rebecca Costa, Sociobiologist and Author, The Watchman's Rattle
Mark Emmert, President, National Collegiate Athletic Association
Joseph Nye Jr. - Part of Graduate Program in International Studies (GPIS) 20th Anniversary Celebration; Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
2011-12
Immaculee Ilibagiza - Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture; Rawandan Genocide Survivor and Author, "Left to Tell"
Jean-Michel Cousteau - Marine Explorer, Environmental Activist, Educator and Filmmaker
2009-10
Mark Bowden (Presented with the 32nd Annual Literary Festival)
Jonathan Kozol - "In Praise of a Beautiful Profession: Educators Working in the Front Lines of the Public Schools" (Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture)
Richard Dreyfuss - A Conversation with Richard Dreyfuss (Presented with the 2009 ONFilm Festival of Independent Film)
Frank DeFord - "Sports: The Hype and the Hoopla"
2007-08
Jaap Doek - "Reducing Global Violence: The Role of Protecting Children from Corporal Punishment" (Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture)
Tim Flannery - "The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth"
Mia Farrow - "With Knowledge Comes Responsibility: The Darfur Crisis" (Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture)
Kim Phuc - "Icon of the Vietnam War" (Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture)
2006-07
Reza Aslan - Iranian-American Writer, Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California and Author of the Internationally Acclaimed "No God But God"
Jon Meacham - "Franklin and Winston: Leadership Lessons for Today"
Enhance your college career by gaining relevant experience with the skills and knowledge needed for your future career. Discover our experiential learning opportunities.
