The Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecture Series at Central Connecticut State University was created in 1983 by the Robert C. Vance Charitable Foundation. The series honors the late Robert C. Vance, a widely respected journalist who was editor and publisher of The Herald in New Britain from 1951 to 1959. The lecture series brought speakers of national and international prominence to the campus and the central Connecticut community. A significant feature of the program involved Central students. Each lecturer spent one-hour in an intimate and informal Q & A session with a group of approximately 75 students. Proceeds from the Vance Lecture benefited scholarships and academic programs at Central. In December 2015, the Vance Lecture Series was discontinued, concluding a run of 32 years that brought illustrious world and national leaders as well as distinguished journalists to the Central campus. Funds supporting the series have been redirected to support expanded programming of this sort and create opportunities for other innovative programs and events that will benefit both the Central community and New Britain.
Past Lecturers
Benjamin Bradlee
Executive Editor, The Washington Post
1983
Harold Lord Wilson
Prime Minister, United Kingdom
1984
Jimmy Carter
President, United States of America
1985
Henry A. Kissinger
U. S. Secretary of State
1987
Gerald R. Ford
President, United States of America
1988
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Author & Political Commentator
and
George McGovern
U.S. Senator
1990
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
1991
Francis T. “Fay” Vincent
Commissioner, Major League Baseball
1992
Helmut Schmidt
Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany
1993
Brian Mulrooney
Prime Minister of Canada
1994
Lech Walesa
President of Poland
1996
Frederik Willem de Klerk
Prime Minister, South Africa
1997
George H. W. Bush
President, United States of America
1999
George J. Mitchell
U.S. Senator
2000
Bob Woodward
Investigative Reporter & Author
2001
Shimon Peres
Prime Minister, Israel
2003
Hugh Downs
Journalist and Television Personality
2005
Dan Rather
Anchor & Editor, CBS Evening News
2007
Bob Dole
U.S. Senator
2008
Anderson Cooper
Journalist & Host of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360º
2009
Steve Forbes
Chairman & CEO, Forbes, Inc.
2010
Robert M. Gates
U.S. Secretary of Defense
2011
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Mayor, New York City
2013