This year’s Founders Lectures series, a new approach to Columbia’s long-standing Conversations in the Arts series, got off to a strong start in October as activist Jonathan Kozol spoke of the educational apartheid that exists within our public schools. Many in the audience of several hundred students, faculty, and guests described his heartfelt lecture as extraordinarily memorable and important to them and their work in education.

Sir Ken Robinson followed in December with an entertaining and provocative lecture about the importance of creativity as a central organizing concept in education. In January, playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith offered a fascinating examination of issues of diversity.

Each of these public intellectuals explores, in his or her work, issues that are central to Columbia’s mission. On April 30, this year’s series concludes with a lecture by Richard Florida, the noted urban studies theorist who writes about the creative economy and its importance to our nation’s future. Underscoring the timeliness of this message was Florida’s cover story for the March issue of the Atlantic, “How the Crash Will Reshape America.” At Columbia, Florida will discuss the importance of the intersection of colleges, arts and culture, and the arts and media industries to Chicago’s future economic vitality. President Warrick L. Carter will introduce Florida and discuss Columbia’s position as a powerhouse and creative incubator within this nexus.