Since its inception in 2004, the Garvey Lecture Series continues to bring distinguished speakers and legal experts to Wichita and serves as a resource for the community’s legal, business and professional communities. Each year, distinguished experts from diverse fields are asked to speak about topics that specifically focus on conflict resolution and peacemaking– from interpersonal to international relations. 

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the Willard and Jean Garvey Lecture Series is proud to present its 2013 program:

Martin Luther King, III
“My Father’s Dream, My Mission”

Friday, April 19, 2013
7:30 p.m.
Davis Administration Building, Alumni Auditorium
Friends University

As the oldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King III has seized the torch lit by his parents and is continuing their quest for equality and justice for all people. Whether speaking to an audience in Mozambique or Mississippi, Israel or Indiana, his vision of the future has touched thousands. Motivating audiences around the world with his insightful message of hope and responsibility for nearly twenty years, King's dedication to creating and implementing strategic nonviolent action to rid the world of social, political, and economic injustice has propelled him to the forefront as one of the nation's most ardent advocates for the poor, the oppressed, and the disillusioned.

Read the full biography at www.harrywalker.com/bios/King_MLIII.pdf.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets are required.

Update: We have had a tremendous response to this event and all seats have been reserved for the Friday, April 19, 2013, lecture and for the Saturday, April 20, 2013, Multicultural Community Forum with Martin Luther King, III.

Past lecturers have included:

Dr. Eileen R. Borris
April 20, 2012

Internationally renowned trainer in global peace initiatives and author of Finding Forgiveness, Dr. Borris has worked on the “frontlines” of forgiveness in the past three decades traveling to war-torn countries and teaching diplomats, peacekeepers and humanitarian organizations how to resolve century old conflicts and renew peace.  At the invitation of the United Nations and as director of training and program development for the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy based in Washington, D.C., Dr. Borris designs and implements programs in international peace building, conflict resolution, trauma recovery, forgiveness and reconciliation to help further the agency’s mission to transform deep-rooted social conflict. As a clinical psychologist, her private practice focuses on helping individuals recover from loss, betrayal and resentments by learning to forgive.

In addition to the lecture, Dr. Borris led participants through the seven-step program she developed and uses worldwide to teach others to forgive.

Jodee Blanco
April 1, 2011

Survivor, expert, and anti-bullying activist, Jodee Blanco is one of the country’s pre-eminent voices on the subject of school bullying. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “Please Stop Laughing at Me – One Woman’s Inspirational Story.” A chronicle of her years as the student outcast, the book inspired a movement inside the nation’s schools and swiftly became an American classic. Blanco’s award-winning sequel, “Please Stop Laughing at Us…One Survivor’s Extraordinary quest to Prevent School Bullying” was written in the response to the demand for more information from her core audience – teens, teachers, parents, and other adult survivors of peer abuse like herself, who came to know Blanco as the champion of their cause. In conjunction with the lecture, Ms. Blanco also led a workshop for counselors, teachers, and the community, in addition to a student workshop.

Neil White
April 16, 2010

Neil White is the author of "In the Sanctuary of Outcasts," a highly acclaimed, non-fiction book that captures his 18 months as a prisoner serving time for bank fraud at a U.S. prison in Carville, La., that also served as home to the nation’s last leprosy patients. His book chronicles his journey as a man who spent his adult life building an image, yet ironically was sent to a place where outward image meant nothing.

Selected among hundreds of nominees, "In the Sanctuary of Outcasts" was selected as the third-place winner for the nonfiction category for Barnes & Noble Booksellers’ Discover Great New Writers awards, a program that recognizes new, dynamic and upcoming literary writers. Released in June 2009, White’s book already has commanded high praises from a wide array of readers, book clubs across America, and prestigious literary reviewers including Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.

During the lecture, White discussed his transformative experiences that allowed him to finally shed his own facade and discover personal freedoms.

“No real healing can take place in our own lives until we face our own imperfections,” White said.

Archbishop Thabo Cecil Makgoba
April 3, 2009

The Most Revd Thabo Cecil Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and head of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, presented “Forgiveness Made Concrete: Lessons from the South African Experience,” as part of the Willard and Jean Garvey Lecture Series April 3 in Alumni Auditorium.

Archbishop Makgoba discussed various aspects of the South African experience, such as the trials and tribulations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and South Africa's peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy. He explored the wider lessons of forgiveness, reconciliation and justice; these lessons’ application in current global affairs; and the important role of the South African churches in applying the visions of hope that accompanied this political change to communities’ and individuals’ lives.

In connection with the Archbishop’s visit to Friends University, the Institute sponsored a community forum on restorative justice and forgiveness on Saturday, April 4. The objective of the forum was to better acquaint representatives of our community with restorative justice concepts and to explore how we might apply these concepts to advance justice and community reconciliation in our community. More than 60 community members participated in the forum. The forum commenced with presentations from the following panel members, each of whom focused on the applicability of restorative justice and forgiveness concepts in their work:  Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (Faith); Mayor Carl Brewer (Government); Sheriff Robert Hinshaw (Law Enforcement); Dr. John Yoder (Education); Dr. Elsie Steelberg (Mental Health); and Gary Flory, J.D. (Law/Mediation). The participants then worked  in groups to specifically consider possible applications of restorative justice in our community. A written report on the forum is available, which includes transcripts of each of the panel members’ presentations and the small group reports.

Makgoba has served as the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and the metropolitan/head of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa since January 2008. He is the youngest bishop ever to be elected to this office.

Download Community Forum Report

Download lecture transcript

DVDs of the archbishop’s lecture and the forum are available through the Institute of Law.

Dr. Harriet Lerner
April 4, 2008

Dr. Harriet Lerner has been described by colleague Dr. Edward Hallowell as “one of the wisest, most sophisticated psychology writers alive today.” Dr. Lerner provided us with wise and innovative “voice lessons” to help us navigate our relationships with clarity, courage and joyous conviction.

Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., is one of our nation’s most respected experts on relationships. For several decades, Dr. Lerner was a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kan., and a faculty member in the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry. She currently has a private practice in Lawrence, Kan. Dr. Lerner is the author of 10 books, including The New York Times bestseller, "The Dance of Anger," and most recently, "The Dance of Fear."

Stephen McAllister
Sept. 19, 2006

One of Kansas' leading legal minds brought his thoughts on some controversial constitutional issues, including funeral picketing, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, abortion and how recent Supreme Court changes might affect constitutional issues.

Stephen McAllister, professor and former dean of the University of Kansas School of Law, presented his lecture "Current Controversies in Constitutional Law and the New Supreme Court" in conjunction with the nationwide celebration of Constitution Day, which the federal government requires schools to commemorate with educational programs.

"Sponsoring Constitution Day is a natural fit for the Garvey Institute of Law," said Dixie Madden, director of the Institute. "The lecture furthered the Institute's objectives to serve as a resource to the University and the community on law-related matters, and Professor McAllister is exceptionally qualified to deliver this lecture."

McAllister's impressive resume includes clerkships for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas, 13 years as a law professor at the University of Kansas, and a recent appointment to legislative counsel for the state of Kansas.

Larry Spears
April 6, 2006

Renowned peacemaker Larry Spears – an attorney from Bismarck, N.D., and founder of the Consensus Council – spent his time here developing the need for consensus councils as a permanent, independent institutional infrastructure for the healthy future of productive democracy and economic development.

In his lecture, "Consensus Councils: Building Agreement at Home and Abroad," Spears gave this definition: "The Consensus Council (CC) is a big idea for the 21st century. CCs provide a permanent, credible service structure of forums and practical assistance to leaders and citizens in building agreements on difficult issues of public policy. CCs strengthen civil society and productive democracy in any society at any level. CCs are simple, low-tech, cheap, locally accountable, productive, sustainable, egalitarian, collegial, empowering, and adjustable to any culture and society."

Spears received his bachelor's degree in history from Stanford University and his juris doctorate from The University of Chicago Law School. He was recognized as a Toll Fellow for The Council of State Governments. He was a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow at Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wyoming and a Merrill Fellow at Harvard University.

The Consensus Council is a nonprofit organization located in Bismarck, N.D. The Council was established in 1990 to provide forums and assistance to public and private leaders and citizens as they establish basic agreements on major issues of public structure, service and policy.

The grassroots-supervised Consensus Council is the practical model to assist leaders of public and private constituencies in building agreements on difficult issues of public policy. The consensus council is a simple idea, comparable to the town meeting, with a role anywhere in the world and at every level of public life.

Dr. Vernon L. Smith
Sept. 29, 2005

Vernon L. Smith, 2002 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, is a professor of economics and law at George Mason University, a research scholar in The Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science, and a fellow of the Mercatus Center, all in Arlington, Va. For the past three years, he has also served as Visiting Rasmuson Chair in Economics at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, focusing on natural resource issues and experimental economics. He serves or has served on the board of editors of the American Economic Review, the Cato Journal, the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Science Magazine, Economic Theory, Economic Design, Games and Economic Behavior, and the Journal of Economic Methodology.

Dr. Smith is a native of Wichita, a graduate of North High School, and a former student of Friends University. Dr. Smith received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Caltech, his master's degree from the University of Kansas, and his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 articles and books on capital theory, finance, natural resource economics and experimental economics.

June Arunga
Sept. 15, 2004

June Arunga is a journalist and law student at the University of Buckingham in England. She previously studied law at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and directed youth programs at the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN-Kenya).

Arunga wrote and presented the recent BBC documentary, "The Devil's Footpath," which chronicles her 5,000-mile journey from Cairo to Cape Town and highlights the chaos created by the breakdown of fundamental systems of law and order in the six countries she visited. Arunga was also featured in a brief "20/20" segment with John Stossel on the WTO meetings in Cancun, Mexico. In the summer of 2003, she served as an intern at the United Nations in New York. June's extensive list of honors and awards include the following:

• Humane Studies Fellow (2004-05)
• H.B. Earhart Fellow
• Director of Youth Programs for the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN-Kenya)
• Kenyan analyst for the International Policy Network
• Senior Fellow at Instituto Bruno Leoni
• Featured on the Economic Thinking/E Pluribus Unum Films Web site
• Board of advisors member for Global Envision
• A member of Grassroots Free Markets

Douglas E. Noll, Esq.
April 2, 2004

Douglas E. Noll is author of the book "Peacemaking: Practicing at the Intersection of Law and Human Conflict" (Cascadia 2002). Noll was a business and commercial trial lawyer in federal and state courts for 22 years and is now a full-time peacemaker and mediator. He received his juris doctorate from McGeorge School of Law at University of the Pacific in 1977. In addition to his law degree, Noll earned a bachelor's in English literature from Dartmouth College in 1973 and a master's degree in peacemaking and conflict studies from Fresno Pacific University in 2001.

In addition to his book, he has authored numerous articles on peacemaking, restorative justice, conflict resolution and mediation. He provides mediation training, gives lectures and serves as a continuing education panelist. His practice, Noll Associates, is devoted to resolving business and interpersonal conflicts without litigation, and he has mediated more than 700 complex conflicts. He also serves as an adjunct professor at San Joaquin College of Law and as adjunct professor of forensic psychology at Alliant University/California School of Professional Psychology.

He is AV-rated and admitted to the California bar, various United States District Courts, various United States Circuit Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. He is a Fellow of The International Academy of Mediators, a Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators.

His lecture at Friends University examined the roots of our adversarial legal system, why it is not suitable for most human conflicts and how changing cultural values necessitate a different approach.