Sheth Distinguished Lecture

The Sheth Distinguished Lecture features outstanding speakers and is named in honor of Dr. Jagdish and Mrs. Madhuri Sheth, whose generous donation made this annual event possible.

Since 2004, a speaker of outstanding quality is invited to present during a lunch attended by emeriti, active faculty, and others with a special interest in the topic. The speaker is selected and invited by Emeritus College’s Teaching and Lecturing Committee, which also hosts the event. Jagdish Sheth is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at Goizueta Business School.

2024 Sheth Lecture

“The Journey of an Accidental Scholar”

Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Goizueta Business School  

Jag Sheth tells how he became an accidental scholar against all odds. He was born in Burma (now Myanmar), became a refugee during World War II, and found his calling after coming to the United States. It is the story of an academic Horatio Alger.

Past Speakers

Where available, you can watch lecture videos by clicking on the name of the speaker.

  • 2023: Hank Klibanoff, Professor of Practice, Emory College
  • 2022: Jamil Zainaldin, President Emeritus, Georgia Humanities Council
  • 2021: Robert Franklin, James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership, Candler School of Theology
  • 2020: Rosemary Magee, Former Director, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
  • 2019: Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory School of Law
  • 2018: Dana Greene, Dean Emerita, Oxford College of Emory University
  • 2017: Dennis Lockhart, Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
  • 2016: James Curran, Professor of Epidemiology and Dean, Rollins School of Public Health
  • 2015: Brenda Bynum, Former Resident Artist and member of the Emory College Department of Theater Studies and an actor and director in Atlanta since 1973, primarily at the Alliance Theater
  • 2014: Don E. Saliers, William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship Emeritus and a theologian specializing in homiletics and liturgics. He retired from Emory University in 2007
  • 2013: Mike Luckovich, Editorial Cartoonist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning (1995, 2006).
  • 2012: Robert Spano, Former Emory University Distinguished Artist in Residence and Music Director Laureate for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
  • 2011: Robert Paul, Former Dean, Emory College, Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies
  • 2010: Elizabeth Kiss, Eighth President of Agnes Scott College, Founding Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University
  • 2009: Natasha Trethewey, Former Professor of English and Phillis Wheatley Distinguished Chair at Emory, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, and US Poet Laureate (2012–2014)
  • 2008: Susan Allen, Professor of Global Health at Rollins School of Public Health, Founder and Director of the Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group
  • 2007: Frans de Waal, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology at Emory, Director of the Living Links at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center
  • 2006: Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and founder of the Carter Center
  • 2005: William Foege, Rollins School of Public Health Professor Emeritus, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director, and Health Policy Fellow and former Executive Director of the Carter Center
  • 2004: James T. Laney, Emory University President Emeritus and former US ambassador to South Korea