LOUISE McBEE LECTURES

Dr. M. Louise McBee


see also:	Previous McBee Lectures More about Dr. McBee Lecture Abstracts and Downloads

The Louise McBee Lectureship in Higher Education honors Dr. Louise McBee, who held leadership positions for more than 25 years at the University of Georgia before serving for more than a decade as a champion for higher education in the House. Distinctiveness and distinction characterize the Louise McBee Lecture series in the Institute of Higher Education, which is one of the few annual lecture series in the United States that focuses solely on higher education. Founded in 1989, the series has brought numerous persons of great distinction to IHE and the University of Georgia to comment upon key directions and themes in higher education.

Among the lecturers have been distinguished scholars who study American higher education like Patricia Cross, Alexander Astin, and Patricia Graham. McBee lecturers have also included notable scholars from fields other than higher education studies who write and think about the academy in distinctive ways. For example, the distinguished Vanderbilt historian Paul K. Conkin lectured in 1992 on “The Mature but Anxious University: Hungry, Captive, Politicized and Deconstructed.”

Lecturers also come from outside the United States and have included Geoffrey Thomas, president of Kellogg College of Oxford University, who also serves as an IHE senior fellow. Thomas lectured on “Who Should Call the Tune in Higher Education? Notes from a Small Island.” James Downey, twice a visiting professor in IHE and former president of the University of New Brunswick and the University of Waterloo, expounded on “The University as Trinity: Balancing Corporation, Collegium, and Continuity.”

Some lecturers are primarily known for the leadership that they have exerted in American higher education. These include Hanna Gray, former president of the University of Chicago, Katherine Lyall, president of the University of Wisconsin System, and this year’s lecturer, Nils Hasselmo, former president of both the University of Minnesota and the Association of American Universities.

2009 Louise McBee Lecture
Jamie P. Merisotis
President and CEO
Lumina Foundation
"Three Critical Outcomes: Why Better Preparation for College, Improved Completion Rates, and Increased Higher Education Productivity are Essential to the Nation."
November 12, 2009
11:00 a.m. in UGA Chapel

Jamie P. Merisotis has served as president and CEO of Lumina Foundation for Education since January 1, 2008. Long a champion of the idea that higher education enhances both society and individuals, Merisotis has worked for decades to increase educational opportunity among low-income, minority and other historically underrepresented populations. At Lumina, Merisotis is continuing that effort by employing a strategic, outcomes-based approach in pursuing the Foundation's mission of expanding college access and success. Under his leadership, Lumina has embraced an ambitious and specific goal: to ensure that, by 2025, 60 percent of Americans have high quality two-year or four-year degrees — up from the current level of 39 percent. It is Merisotis' aim that all of Lumina's efforts and activities — grant making, communication, evaluation, policy advocacy and convening — work toward achieving that goal.

Look below for a short video excerpt of last year's McBee lecture.