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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.

There There

2021 Lecture: Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 - Tommy Orange, author of There There

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 on Thursday, Nov. 4. “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 also will be the University’s Common Read for the 2021–2022 academic year. A virtual book discussion will be held for Stritch alumni and friends in advance of Orange’s visit to campus.

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.

Contact us to request additional information as it becomes available.
Felipe Luciano

2019 Speaker Recap

Felipe Luciano

A two-time Emmy Award-winner for his reporting, Felipe Luciano was America's first Puerto Rican television anchor. He is one of the most dynamic Latino public figures in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. His eloquence, vision and passion for issues of social justice are extraordinary and reflect the courage of a generation that chose to organize, teach and struggle against the powerful institutions of discrimination.

  • 2018: Dr. Lucy Kalanithi
    • Discussed late husband, Dr. Paul Kalanithi's book When Breath Becomes Air
  • 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