The Department of History and American Studies at the University of Mary Washington will present the Centennial Edition of the “Chappell Lecture Series: Great Lives” on selected Tuesdays and Thursdays during the spring semester.
The program, now in its fifth year, will examine the lives of intriguing figures throughout history. In celebration of the university’s 100th anniversary, the series will focus on compelling people who lived between 1908 and 2008. In addition, the series will feature special lectures on the university’s namesake, Mary Ball Washington, to kick off the series and during Founder’s Week in March. The lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall, Dodd Auditorium, and are open to the public free of charge.
Speakers featured in January and February include Martha Saxton, associate professor at Amherst College; Jean Edward Smith, professor of political science at Marshall University; Kathleen Dalton, visiting associate professor at Boston University; and Robert Gellately, professor at Florida State University.
The series begins on Thursday, January 17 with a lecture on “Mary Ball Washington” by Martha Saxton, associate professor of history and women’s and gender studies at Amherst College. She has received several awards, including the Miner D. Crary Award from Amherst College and the Boston Globe Annual Award. A member of the Author’s Guild and the PEN American Center, Dr. Saxton teaches courses in human rights activism, women’s history in America, and historical perspectives on criminal justice and the U.S. economy. She holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Chicago and a doctorate from Columbia University.
On Thursday, January 24, Jean Edward Smith will give the lecture on “Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Dr. Smith teaches political science courses at Marshall University and is the author of 12 books including biographies of FDR and Chief Justice John Marshall. His biography of Ulysses S. Grant was a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is a graduate of Princeton and Columbia universities.
On Thursday, January 31, Kathleen Dalton will present “Theodore Roosevelt.” She has studied Theodore Roosevelt since 1975 and has spoken about him on C-SPAN, the History Channel and the Arts and Entertainment Channel. Dalton is the author of “Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life” and “A Portrait of a School: Coeducation at Andover.” She is currently working on a book about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Dalton earned degrees from Mills College and Johns Hopkins University.
The “Great Lives” lecture series will continue through April. For more information or for a complete listing of the lectures, call (540) 654-1055 or visit https://www.umw.edu/greatlives.