Lectures

THE WORLD OF
JERRY HENDRICKS

Repercussions of a collector

Lectures

This may be the most difficult list to recreate since there is very little physical evidence, such as tickets or playbills, only a vague recollection of those that stood out. Will only list prominent figures and not the hundreds of professional seminars attended over the years.
Photo	Date	Name	Venue	Location	Rating
Blue Hen	10-26-71	John Kerry	Carpenter Sports Building	Newark, DE	?
This might be wishful thinking, but perusing the 1972 UD yearbook sparked memories of the following speakers, but I can't confirm that I saw John Kerry. Knowing what a boring speaker he can be, it's seems reasonable to assume that if I was there the talk could have been easily forgettable. If I wasn't there in body, I should have been in spirit.
Blue Hen	02-28-72	Ken Kesey	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
Loved his books, but his personality was a bit over the top. "Lecture" turned into a be-in, which was well received at the time. Certainly an interesting experience.
Blue Hen	02-29-72	Jean Sheperd	Rodney Room	Newark, DE
Could have listed this in Comedy Shows because it was extremely funny, but Shep considered himself a raconteur, not a comedian. Long before he achieved national fame with "A Christmas Story", we were big fans of his short stories in Playboy. I have subsequently discovered his radio shows which are available at The Internet Archive at http://www.archive.org/ and there is a comprehensive fan site at http://www.flicklives.com/index.php. Below is a clip labeled as being from 1972 in Clifton, NJ. (video)
Blue Hen	1972	William Kunstler	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
Flamboyant defender of the Chicago Seven presented "Justice in America". Publicity hound, but fighting the good fight.
Blue Hen	1972	Norman Mailer	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
Another great writer, but poor speaker.
Blue Hen	1972	John Kenneth Galbraith	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
As a senior Economics major, it was a given that I should hear the "God" of economic theory. I probably did, but it obviously wasn't memorable.
Blue Hen	1972	William Proxmire	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE	?
I remember admiring his views on Vietnam, so once again, I may been there, I don't recall. I wish more yearbooks would have documented other speakers to help jog my failing memory.
	1988?	Julius Irving	Clayton Hall	Newark, DE
One of my all time favorite athletes. Better player than speaker, but it was still a thrill to see him. Poor Annie stood in line a long time to pose a question, but never got to ask it.
Photo	07-09-06	Jeffrey Sachs	World Congress of Soil Science	Philadelphia, PA
Our keynote speaker encouraged the assembled group of soils scientists that the power to save the world's hungry is in our hands. We have the expertise and therefore the responsibility to make it happen. Proud to have worked with the organizing committee that made his talk possible.
Photo	02-04-08	Chelsea Clinton	Trabant Center	Newark, DE
Has matured and blosomed nicely since her White House days. On campus to stump for her mothers's bid for the presndential nimnation.
Photo	10-15-10	Chris Coons Rally	Grand Opera House	Wilmington, DE
President Obama, VP Biden, Senatos Carper and Kaufman and Gov Markell all spoke in support of Chris Coons for Senate. Had to wait in line and in the theatre for about 3 hours, but it was well worth it. Even better, he won easily. (article)(video)
	10-31-10	Thomas Freidman	SSSA Annual Meeting	Long Beach, CA
Always insightful NY Times columnist and probably my favorite world affairs observer. In " Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America.", he was able to simply complex issues and present them in a folksy, if sometimes too cutesy, manner. As did Jeffrey Sachs, he encouraged the meeting participants to get involved and move beyond their comfort zone.
	11-03-10	Jared Diamond	SSSA Annual Meeting	Long Beach, CA
Author of one of my favorite books, "Guns, Germs and Steel", he regailed the crowd with unique anthropological observations, that sound obvious once articulated. He seemed to be a bit on automatic pilot, having obviously given the same talk many times, but it was still a worthwhile experience. (article)
Photo	02-21-11	Cornell West	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
A joy to watch as he creates poetic social commentary on the fly. His mind seems to be spinning in overdrive, and even at his most critical, is having a great time as if he is surprising himself as he makes his observation. (article)
Photo	02-26-11	Kenan Thompson	Trabant Center	Newark, DE
Billed as "Comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson will perform stand-up comedy Saturday, Feb. 26." was clearly a case of false advertising. Instead it was an evening spent reminiscing about his storied acting career in such cinematic classics as Fat Albert and Good Burger. Tellingly he early on stated that he doesn't see himself as a comedian, but as an actor.
Podcast	04-06-11	Rajendra Pachauri	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
Nobel Peace Prize winner focused on how the cumulative effects of industrialization affected the health of our natural resources and ecosystems.
Photo	09-16-11	Vice president Joe Biden	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
Not a partisan political rally, but a thoughtful lecture on the meaning of the constitution. Was also an occasion to donate his Senate papers to the UD Library. (article)(video)
	11-02-11	Wynton Marsalis Quintet	Bob Carpenter Center	Newark, DE
More lecture than concert, Wynton relayed the history of black music in the US and performed examples of each relevant style. Very articulate and informative.
Photo	02-28-12	Terry Tempest Williams	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
A dialog moderated by McKay Jenkins, the self described Mormon feminist spoke about environmental activism and how it relates to her spiritual worldview. Wonderfully charming and sensible, it prompted by to buy her book on her experience of her mother's death due to cancer. (article)
	11-08-12	Richard Alley	Mitchell Hall	Newark, DE
As with the previous listing, another DENIN Dialog Series speaker with geeky geology professor at Penn State and host of the PBS miniseries Earth: The Operators' Manual.
Photo	02-22-13	Maya Angelou	Bob Carpenter Center	Newark, DE
Amazing woman and has earned the right to brag about her life, which she did with gace and humor. Spirited opening with the Canaan Baptist Choir, and well read poem by the president of the Black Student Union. (article)
Photo	02-27-14	Harry Belafonte	Trabant Multipurpose Room	Newark, DE
UD Center for Black Culture presents another winner for Black History Month. Articulate , and pulling no punches, Mr. Belafonte urged the audience to continue the struggle for civil rights as long as there is injustice in the world. At the end we got to help him celebrate his 87th birthday with a cake and song. Highlight though was the last question presented by a young boy (seen on on stage in this photo) who wanted to know what "kids can do to make the world a better place, not only for white people but for black people too". Harry answered that he should never lose that spirit and that if all kids around the world were like him, problems would disappear. (article)
Photo	06-07-15	Terry Gross	Grand Opera House	Wilmington, DE
While I had seen photos, it is almost always disorienting to see a radio personality in person. The mental image created over years never seems to align with reality. Nevertheless, she is just as pleasant on stage as on air, and told some wonderful stories.
Photo	03-21-17	Bill Nye	Bob Carpenter Center	Newark, DE
A packed house for a Q&A with McKay Jenkins, The Science Guy got a rock star reception. The mostly student crowd got their introdution and appreciation of science through him and he implored all to fight the good fight.

Last updated, October 3, 2015.