Speakers & Educational Series
Winona State has a long, rich history of thought leadership through campus speakers series and educational series.
These events offer our campus community unique insight, new perspectives, and industry expertise.
Each year WSU welcomes speakers and guests from around the world.
They share their unique outlook and engage us with their intriguing account of the world around us. Their diverse experiences are combined with the university theme to inspire student and community involvement.
The Duran Family Speaker Series is the premiere speaker series at Winona State. The series was founded to present events that provide unique cultural enrichment and educational opportunities for our campus communities.
Internationally renowned speakers present topics in the sciences, the arts, politics, literature, popular culture, and more. Some past speakers include Bill Nye the Science Guy and “Saturday Night Live” star Michael Che.
Events are made possible through a generous gift by 1970 Winona State graduate Denis Duran.
The office coordinates cultural, heritage, and social awareness programs to educate and inspire campus and community members.
Equity & Inclusive Excellence Events
Each academic year a new Common Book is selected and incorporated into the curriculum of numerous courses, including sections of English 111: College Reading and Writing, and may be adopted by any faculty interested in the issues it raises.
Public readings, lectures, discussions and other related events are scheduled concurrently with each author’s visit to WSU.
Common Book Project
The writers visit creative writing and literature classes, meet with students, and give a public reading.
Great River Reading Series
The CLASP lecture series was initiated in 2004 and is intended to promote interdisciplinary discussion and exchange.
CLASP presentations are aimed at a general audience of students, faculty and the community.
The Earth Talks Speaker Series is hosted each semester by the Geoscience Department.
The series serves as a forum through which experts from academia, government, and the private sector, as well as WSU students and faculty, share their experiences and research results with the WSU Geoscience community.
The Distinguished Lecture Series is hosted each semester by the Mathematics Department.
The series serves as a forum for experts within the mathematics and statistics fields to share concepts and how they are applied in industry.
Miller Brothers Lecture Series is hosted by the Miller Brothers School of Engineering Department.
The series serves as a forum for alumni and professionals within the Composite Materials Engineering industry to share design, manufacturing, and testing of composite engineering materials.