The 2026 Gloria and John L. Blackburn Academic Symposium opening keynote address will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 28, 2026, in The University of Alabama Student Center Theater. The full UA campus community is invited. Students can RSVP via MySource. Keynote Speaker Our opening keynote speaker for this year’s Gloria and John L.…
The 2025 Frank A. Nix Memorial Lecture will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2025 in The University of Alabama Student Center Theater. The full UA campus community is invited. Students can RSVP via MySource. Keynote Speaker Our keynote speaker for this year’s symposium is Robert Putnam, political scientist and prolific author,…
The theme of the Blackburn Institute’s 2024 Annual Symposium, “30 years of Fellowship: Building the Bonds of Ethical Leadership,” will highlight the work of Dr. John L. Blackburn against the backdrop of desegregation at The University of Alabama, the creation of the Blackburn Institute, and our efforts to change the state in the present and…
The theme of the Blackburn Institute’s 2023 Annual Symposium, “Civic Engagement in the Age of AI,” will highlight ethical implications of artificial intelligence, while promoting efforts to improve communities and influence society for the common good. Attendees will hear from speakers and panelists working to affect positive change throughout the state of Alabama and beyond,…
The theme of the Blackburn Institute’s 2022 Annual Symposium, “Innovative Leadership: Beyond the Familiar Path,” will highlight efforts to improve communities and influence systems through advances in STEM, entrepreneurship, and other civic enterprises. Attendees will hear from speakers and panelists working to affect positive change throughout the state of Alabama and beyond. The hybrid event held…
The theme of the Blackburn Institute’s 2021 Annual Symposium, “The Next Normal: Dynamic Leadership in Changing Times” will highlight the work of the Institute and feature speakers and panelists sharing the challenges of the past and working to affect positive change in the state of Alabama and around the world. The event, held over a…
The theme of the Blackburn Institute’s 2020 Annual Symposium, “Leadership in Times of Crisis,” will highlight the work of the institute and feature speakers and panelists sharing the challenges of the past and working to affect positive change in the state of Alabama and around the world. The event, held over a two-day period in…
Born in Decatur, Alabama, Dr. Mae C. Jemison is a Physician, Engineer, former NASA astronaut, and leader of 100 Year Starship non-profit for space exploration. 100 Year Starship (100YSS) is a bold, far reaching nonprofit initiative to assure the capabilities exist for human travel beyond our solar system to another star within the next 100…
