Past William O. Douglas Lectures

March 2023 Judge M. Margaret McKeown, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, “Citizen Justice:  The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas, Public Advocate and Conservation Champion” (co-sponsored with the Langlie endowment)

September 2021: Justice William O Douglas (Whitman, Class of 1920) Centennial Conference

Opening Remarks: 

Prof. Jack Jackson, Whitman College Department of Politics 

Environmental Legacy of Justice Douglas:

Prof. Heather Elliott, University of Alabama School of Law
Prof. Adam Sowards, University of Idaho Department of History
Renny Acheson, Whitman Class of '22

Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Legacy of Justice Douglas: 

Prof. Scott Skinner-Thompson, University of Colorado School of Law
Prof. Marc-Tizoc Gonzales, University of New Mexico School of Law
Alice Lesniak, Whitman Class of '22

Keynote Address: 

Michele Storms, ACLU-WA, Executive Director

April 2019 Risa Lieberwitz, Professor of Labor and Employment Law at Cornell University & General Counsel of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), "Academic Freedom and Collective Action"

March 2018 James Salzman, Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at UCLA Law School and the UC Santa Barbara School of Environment, "The Past, Present, and Future of Drinking Water"

April 2017 Steven Salaita, Edward Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut, "Why Palestine Matters to Academic Freedom" (co-sponsored by the Jackson endowment)

October 2015 Nancy Langston, Distinguished Professor of Environmental History at Michigan Technological University (part of the new Great Lakes Research Center), "Water, Mining Waste, and American Indian Communities in the Lake Superior Basin"

April 2015 Kathryn Abrams, Herma Kill Hay Professor of Law at U.C. Berkeley, "#Not1MoreDeportation: Confrontation and Belonging in Undocumented Activism"

April 2013 Bill McKibben, Environmental writer and climate activist, “350: The Most Important Number in the World”

April 29, 2013, Bill McKibben, environmental activist and founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org. "350: The Most Important Number in the World".

February 7, 2012 - Jon Marvel, Executive Director of Western Watersheds Project. "The Western Paradox: Public Lands, Dependent States and Speaking for the Earth." 

September 27, 2010 - Adam Sowards, Associate Professor of History at the University of Idaho. "The Environmental Justice: William O. Douglas and American Conservation. "April 22, 2010 - Graham Chisholm - Executive Director of Audubon California. "Earth Day at Forty: New Conservation Challenges for the 21st Century."

October 18, 2007 - William deBuys, acclaimed author. "Uncle Aldo (Leopold): Learning to Learn about the Natural World."

October 19, 2006 - Nadine Strossen, President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "Abuse of Power: The Assault on Civil Liberties After 9/11."

September 20, 2005 - David Quammen, writer. "The Gentle Mr. Darwin: Why So Many Americans Fear Him, and Why They Should."

April 12, 2005 - William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA ."Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights."

September 18, 2003 - Nils D. Christoffersen, Field Program Manager, Wallowa Resources. "Conservation in the 21st Century: Connecting the Global to the Local."

September 24, 2002 - Sister Helen Prejean, Author of the International Best-Selling Book "Dean Man Walking." (co-sponsored by President's Office).

October 16, 2001 - Morris Dees, Co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (co-sponsored by President's Office). "Hope and Tolerance in the New Millennium."

September 25, 2000 - R. McGreggor Cawley, Professor of Political Science, University of Wyoming. "The Voice of the Inanimate Object, Thoughts on the Politics of Wilderness."

April 4, 2000 - Judith Butler, Department of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at the University of California-Berkeley. "On the Value of Being Disturbed" (discussed recent controversy surrounding an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Sept. 25-26, 1998 - Featured speakers: David J. Danelski, Stanford University; Lucas A. Powe, Jr., The University of Texas; Philippa Strum, City University of New York-Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center; Melvin I. Urofsky, Virginia Commonwealth University. "William O. Douglas Centennial Symposium: Enduring Free Speech Controversies and the Legacy of William O. Douglas, '20."

April 6, 1998 - Roger K. Newman, Research Scholar, New York University School of Law. "William O. Douglas: How He Speaks to Us Today."

April 28, 1997 - Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law, New York Law School, and national president of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights."

April 22, 1996 - Victor M. Sher, President, Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Inc. "Environmental Rights and Civil Justice: The Judicial Legacy of William O. Douglas."