President's Lecture Series
The President's Lecture Series (PLS) is a faculty initiative of the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences that is sponsored by the Office of the President. The lecture series is planned, organized, and administered by a committee of faculty volunteers who are guided by the PLS Mission Statement.
Mission Statement
PLS Mission Statement: By welcoming public intellectuals to a dynamic educational environment, The President's Lecture Series strives to provide a forum for critical discourse that is responsive to the interests of the Humber community. In fulfilling this goal, we commit to the values of free speech, diversity, and academic and social engagement.
Explore our archive!
We have a video archive of speakers going back to 2006 available as a resource to faculty, staff and students.
Get Involved!
Come to one of our upcoming talks. Here are the speakers for the Fall 2023 term:
Dr. Justine Dembo
MAID and Mental Illness in Canada: Background, Legislation, and Controversies
Tues, Nov 7th, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., Q&A + Reception to Follow
North Campus, B101 Boardroom
Dr. Justine Dembo is a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto who specializes in obsessive compulsive and anxiety disorders. She has conducted research on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in relation to mental illness since 2009 and has been a MAID assessor since 2015, testifying at Senate hearings on Bill C-7 and serving as an Expert Witness for the landmark Truchon v. Canada and Lamb v. Canada legal cases.
Dr. Fenwick McKelvey
A Copy of What? The Commons and ChatGPT
Thurs, Nov 23rd, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., Q&A + Reception to Follow
North Campus, B101 Boardroom
Dr. Fenwick McKelvey is an Associate Professor of Information and Communication Technology Policy in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University. The author of Internet Daemons: Digital Communications Possessed, which won the 2019 Gertrude J. Robinson Book Award, he studies digital politics and policy, appearing frequently as an expert commentator in the media and intervening in media regulatory hearings.
Suggest a Speaker
The PLS Committee strives to be responsive to the entire college community. To generate as much interest as possible, the committee looks for speakers who will have broad appeal among the great diversity of students who attend the college. We actively seek feedback and suggestions from faculty, staff, and students.
PLS speakers are chosen on the basis of five criteria. PLS speakers must be 1) high profile 2) intellectually accessible 3) thought-provoking 4) Canadian- and/or internationally-focused, and 5) must not be sitting or campaigning elected politicians nor have already appeared at the college within the past three years. Do you know of a suitable speaker? If so, please forward your suggestion(s) to pls@humber.ca. Be sure to let us know what topics the speaker could address, their areas of academic specialization, their publications, and especially send us any links to interviews or talks available online.