Kendall Lecture Series
The Kendall Lecture Series was established through the philanthropy of the late Nancy, ’87, and the late Lee, ’88 (H), Kendall to honor the liberal arts tradition of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. The purpose is to underwrite speakers of national prominence to Cardinal Stritch University. Speakers are selected based on their ability to encourage meaningful intellectual discussion among students and the broader Milwaukee community.


2021 Lecture: Tommy Orange, author of There There
*The event will be live streamed. To receive a password-protected link, please email your name to communications@stritch.edu
Cardinal Stritch University will welcome Tommy Orange, author of “There There,” a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, for the 2021 Kendall Lecture . “There There” is a multi-generational, relentlessly paced story about a side of America few of us have ever seen: the lives of urban Native Americans. The book is the University’s Common Read for the 2021–2022 academic year.
Orange graduated from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Oakland, California.
Read a Nov. 3, 2021, Shepherd Express article about Stritch's Common Read and Orange's visit.
For more information on Speaker, please visit www.prhspeakers.com
author photo credit Elena Seibert
- 2019: Felipe Luciano
Two-time Emmy Award-winner for his reporting and America's first Puerto Rican television anchor, he discussed social justice reflected on the courage of a generation that chose to organize, teach and struggle against the powerful institutions of discrimination. - 2018: Dr. Lucy Kalanithi
Discussed When Breath Becomes Air, written by her late husband Dr. Paul Kalanithi - 2017: Gary Younge
Author of Another Day in the Death of America - 2016: Phil Klay
Award-winning author of Redeployment - 2014: Lori and Wayne Earl
Parents of the late Esther Earl, who was the inspiration for John Green's book The Fault in Our Stars