Impact Symposium

Vanderbilt's Impact Symposium, one of the oldest university lecture series of its caliber in the nation, will feature best-selling author Azar Nafisi, Black Lives Matter activist and Teach For America Executive Director Brittany Packnett, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee and former Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner March 21-23. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Impact Symposium marked its 51st year with three nights of speakers March 16-18, including award-winning playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Impact Symposium is marking its 51st year with lectures by award-winning playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith, "Washington Post" columnist Eugene Robinson, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Read More

Vanderbilt's Impact Symposium marks its 50th anniversary this year with a slate of speakers that includes former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe and former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. Read More

Watch Leymah Gbowee, a 2011 Nobel laureate, speak at Vanderbilt's Impact Symposium March 19, 2013. Read More

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will speak at Vanderbilt in his first appearance on a college campus since ending his term as Israel’s minister of defense in March 2013. Read More

Watch a conversation with former Sen. George Mitchell, who served as U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2011 and as independent chairman of the Northern Ireland Peace Talks, facilitated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss at Vanderbilt University March 18, 2013. Read More

Ehud Barak’s appearance at Vanderbilt’s 2013 Impact Symposium has been postponed until Sunday, April 7. The March 18 event will now be a conversation with former Sen. George Mitchell, moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss. Read More

Watch video of Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, and Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico who has served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, speaking at the 2012 Impact Symposium on March 21. The discussion was… Read More

Watch video of retired Gen. Wesley Clark and Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor who has served as ambassador to Singapore and China and was a recent contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, speaking at the 2012 Impact Symposium that took place on March 20. The discussion was moderated by… Read More

Watch video of Sen. Lamar Alexander speaking at the 2012 Impact Symposium on March 19. This year’s theme is “Rise of the Rest: What is the Future of American Foreign Policy?” The Vanderbilt University Speakers Committee organizes the annual IMPACT Symposium, which has been a tradition at Vanderbilt since 1964. This… Read More

Sen. Lamar Alexander (Vanderbilt University) IMPACT Symposium will take place March 19-21. This year’s theme is “Rise of the Rest: What is the Future of American Foreign Policy?” Gen. Wesley Clark (Photo courtesy of Greater Talent Network) Delivering public lectures will be United States Sen. Lamar Alexander;… Read More

Vanderbilt University's annual Impact Symposium will take place March 19-21. The theme of this year’s lectures is “Rise of the Rest: What is the Future of American Foreign Policy?” This year's participants include United States Sen. Lamar Alexander; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor who has served as ambassador to Singapore and China; Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, and Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico who has served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Read More

Watch video of “How Does the Media Speak to the Middle Class,” a public conversation between Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, and William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard. The talk took place Monday, March 21, at Vanderbilt University’s Langford Auditorium as part of the university’s annual Impact Symposium. Read More

(Vanderbilt University/Ann Rayner) Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief ofThe Huffington Post, and William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, discussed “How Does the Media Speak to the Middle Class,” as part of the university’s annual Impact Symposium on Monday, March 21. In her recently published book, Third World America, Huffington writes that the American… Read More

Arianna Huffington (Photo courtesy of Washington Speakers Bureau) Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post; William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard; Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota and possible 2012 presidential candidate, and Christina Romer, former chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, will deliver public… Read More

Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, and Christina Romer, former chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, are speaking as part of the university’s annual Impact Symposium. Read More

Arianna Huffington (Photo courtesy of Washington Speakers Bureau) PLEASE NOTE that Arianna Huffington and William Kristol’s talk was rescheduled and took place Monday night. Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post; Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota; Christina Romer, former chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic… Read More