Once each semester, the Chidsey Leadership Lecture series features Davidson Alumni and other inspiring leaders who have made exceptional contributions to their communities.  Speakers are invited to give a lecture, eat dinner with students beforehand, and meet with students during the day in a class, workshop, and/or informal setting. Speakers are selected not just by their visibility, but rather by their unique experiences that can be applied to diverse student groups.

Nominate Lecturers

Our committee meets regularly to invite lecturers to campus. The diverse perspective of a successful leader, coupled with their willingness to share their story, enables us to offer meaningful lessons to the student body. Not only will a lecturer articulate their unique journey, but the relationships they developed and the combination of approaches employed along the way. To nominate a Chidsey Leadership Lecture speaker,  send an email to chidseycenter@davidson.edu.

Spring 2013 Lecture - "Communication for Change,"  April 9, 2013 @ 7:30 pm

Communication is at the heart of the relationship between leaders and those they lead. Communication professor and crisis negotiations expert Dr. Randall G. Rogan, Professor of Communication and Associate Dean for Academic Planning at Wake Forest University, will present the Chidsey Leadership Lecture "Communication for Change" at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 in C. Shaw Smith 900 Room, Alvarez College Union on the Davidson College campus. This event is sponsored by the Chidsey Center for Leadership Development and is FREE and open to the public. For further information, contact chidseycenter@davidson.edu.

Dr. Randall G. Rogan will illustrate how leaders can communicate in ways that empower people to work towards change; enabling people to innovate and address the challenges that their organizations and communities face. Dr. Rogan currently serves as Professor of Communication and Associate Dean for Academic Planning at Wake Forest University. He teaches courses in relational communication, communication and conflict, research methods, and communication, terrorism and hostage negotiation. Dr. Rogan is an internationally recognized authority in crisis and hostage negotiation and communication of terrorism, having spoken at many national and international venues. Traditionally, his work has been in forensic discourse analysis of crisis negotiations and author identification. In particular, his research focuses on the affective and framing features of conflict communication, for which he has received scholarly awards. Recently, Dr. Randall Rogan was interviewed following the resolution of the hostage situation in Alabama during which a five-year-old boy was kidnapped and held in an underground bunker. Additional information about Dr. Rogan.

Past Chidsey Lectures

 
Carol Quillen, "Leadership Now"  November  2011

Dr. Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, "Never As Hot"  March 2012

Bill Ferguson, '05, "Were You Phenomenal Today?" November 2010
 
Elizabeth E. Kiss, '83, "Leading with Honor and Integrity" April 2010

The Honorable Calvin E. Murphy, '70, "Leadership: A View from the Bench" November 2009
 
Anne Stanback '81, "Love Makes a Family" February 2009

Carlos Alvarez, "A Leadership Journey" October  2008
 
Margot Williams, "From Vision to Action" February 2008
 
John Chidsey '83, "How Davidson Prepared Me to Work at Burger King"  October 2007
 
Bobby Vagt '69, "What Bobby Wishes He Knew Then"  April 2007