Endowed Lectures

Kayser Memorial Lecture

Elmer Kayser sitting at a desk with an open book — Elmer L. Kayser

Each year a prominent historian visits GW to deliver the Kayser Memorial Lecture to undergraduates and to hold a colloquium for graduate students.

The lecture series began in 2001 with the creation of an endowment by members of the class of 1951, led by Tad Lindner. The endowment was founded in honor of their 50th reunion and GW’s longtime dean of students, historian and professor Elmer L. Kayser. Kayser, a native of Washington, D.C., received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from GW. He served as a professor of history for many years at GW and as dean of students from 1930 to 1962.

Past Kayser Lectures

Diana Silvia Rodríguez Lecture

The Annual Diana Silvia Rodríguez Lecture was created through a generous bequest by the late GW History Professor Leo Ribuffo in honor of his former wife. The event features eminent scholars in the field of Latin American history.

Past Rodríguez Lectures

Kylan Jones-Huffman Memorial Lecture

The Kylan Jones-Huffman Memorial Lecture honors Kylan Jones-Huffman, who was admitted to GW’s Ph.D. program in Middle Eastern history. Jones-Huffman was killed in 2003 while on assignment with the First Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq. In his memory, family and friends contributed gifts to endow the Kylan and Heidi Jones-Huffman Fund in support of graduate students in Middle Eastern history. The lecture is supported by the fund.

Past Jones-Huffman Lectures

2015: Ussama Makdisi

Support Lectures by Giving to History