The Grand Challenges Forum
Fridays, 1鈥�2 p.m., in the Honors College Commons
The Grand Challenges Forum encourages students to think critically, discuss openly and learn unequivocally. The Honors College welcomes a diverse group of distinguished scholars, authors, activists and artists in an effort to further the University鈥檚 commitment to intellectual rigor, critical thinking and scholarly excellence. The Grand Challenges Forum offers students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the local community a time to hear a wide range of lectures dedicated to a compelling theme.
Hosted by the Honors College, the Grand Challenges Forum is open to the entire community. The lectures will be held on Fridays from 1鈥�2 p.m. in the Honors College Commons.
Fall 2025 Grand Challenges Forum Schedule
Theme: In Time
Friday, September 5, 2025
Joshua Ellis, M.D., MPH (鈥�12)
Attending Faculty Physician and Clerkship Director of
Emergency Medicine at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
"When Every Second Counts: Lessons from the ER and the Journey to Becoming a Healer"
Note: This event will take place in Cemo Hall 100D
Friday, September 19, 2025
Paul Carrese, Ph.D.
Founding Director, School of Economic and Civic Thought and Leadership, Arizona State
University
"Civic Education for Our Constitutional Order"
Friday, October 17, 2025
Alberto Garc铆a G贸mez, Ph.D.
Chairholder, UNESCO Chair of Bioethics and Human Rights
鈥淏uilding Ethical Bridges in Times of Polarization: Global Bioethics and Integral
Ecology鈥�
Friday, October 24, 2025
Robert Proctor, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Connecticut College
"From Violence to Beauty: Cicero鈥檚 Rhetoric, Political Violence, and the Collapse
of the Roman Republic"
Friday, November 14, 2025
Robert Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Former NASA Astronaut
Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedical Oncology,
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
"Space Exploration, Space Tourism, and the Future of Space Travel"