Founder of Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton has taken hundreds of street photographic portraits of ordinary people living and working primarily in New York City, accompanied by stories from their lives. His work has garnered more than 17 million likes on Facebook and five million followers on Instagram. A Time Magazine 30 Under 30 People Changing The World, Stanton demonstrates the value of storytelling and our desire to remain connected with real people in our increasingly technology-driven world.
Guilford College’s Bryan Series enriches the educational and cultural experience for residents of Greensboro and the central North Carolina region with provocative speaker programs featuring well-known figures in the arts, humanities and public affairs.
The Bryan Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Arts Humanities and Public Affairs was established at Guilford by a $1 million gift by Joseph M. Bryan Jr. ‘60 and the former Kathleen Price Bryan Family Fund in 1994. In 2011, Bryan made a $1.5 million gift to the College’s Advancing Excellence campaign to strengthen the endowment for the series.
Major speaker events began in 1996 and the lectures became the “Bryan Series” in 2002. Past speakers have included Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, Tony Blair, Madeleine Albright, Robert Gates, Desmond Tutu, Sidney Poitier, Tom Brokaw, Bill Bradley, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Bill Moyers, Thomas Friedman, Ron Howard, Anderson Cooper and Toni Morrison. Five heads of state, five Nobel Prize laureates, two former U.S. Secretaries of State and winners of MacArthur Fellowships and Academy, Tony, Grammy and Emmy Awards have been speakers in the series. Learn more about the Bryan Series.
2017-2018 GUEST SPEAKERS
Joe and Jill Biden
Friday, September 17, 2017. 3:30 PM
Lisa Genova
Wednesday, October 25, 2017, 7:30 PM
Leslie Odom Jr.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 7:30 PM
Reza Aslan – SPECIAL EVENT
Sunday, January 28, 2018, 3:30 PM
Ted Koppel
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, 7:30 PM
Brandon Stanton
Tuesday, April 10, 2018, 7:30 PM
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKERS
Joe and Jill Biden
Our 47th Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, has dedicated his life to public service. Before spending the last eight years in the White House, he was a U.S. Senator for 36 years, providing leadership in the areas of foreign policy and the judiciary. Former Second Lady Jill Biden is a career educator and a peoples’ advocate who shines a light on issues of importance to women and military families. Through their recently established foundation, the Bidens have set wide-ranging goals including promoting equal rights and funding cancer research. Join us for an intriguing discussion covering their lifelong commitment to the betterment of our society.
Lisa Genova
Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction, neuroscientist Lisa Genova is the author of four New York Times bestselling novels featuring characters who are facing the challenges of neurological diseases and disorders. Still Alice won the 2008 Bronte Prize and the 2011 Bexley Book of the Year, among many others. The novel inspired an Academy Award-winning film starring Julianne Moore, who won the 2015 Best Actress Oscar for her role as Alice Howland. In 2015, Genova was named one of the U.S. Top 50 Influencers in Aging.
Leslie Odom Jr.
Multifaceted performer Leslie Odom Jr. won a Grammy Award and the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the role of “Aaron Burr” in the blockbuster Broadway musical Hamilton. With many awards and honors under his belt, Odom Jr. has also appeared on the small screen and is best-known for his portrayal of “Sam Strickland” in the NBC musical series Smash, and his role as “Reverend Curtis Scott” on Law & Order: SVU. The New York Times calls Odom Jr. one of the “Young Rebels Changing History and Theater.”
Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan addresses topics of Islam, the Middle East and Muslim Americans with authority, wit and infectious optimism. He is the author of several popular books including the international bestseller No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. He’s also the host of CNN’s show on world religions, Believer, and author and producer of other important works that speak to the masses.
Ted Koppel
The longest-serving news anchor in U.S. broadcast history, Ted Koppel is recognized around the world as a trusted and respected voice on current events and issues of global importance. With his trademark wisdom, wit, warmth and superb storytelling skills, Koppel shares with audiences his observations on the state of the U.S. and the world, providing unmatched analysis of foreign policy, the alarming partisanship and acrimony that has taken over the political process, economic challenges, social issues of the day — and the people behind the scenes.
Brandon Stanton
About Guilford College
Guilford College is an independent liberal arts college of 1,900 traditional aged and adult students in Greensboro, N.C., providing tomorrow’s leaders with the innovative problem-solving skills, experiences and global perspectives to actively create change in the world. Founded by Quakers in 1837, the College continues to be profoundly influenced by Quaker values, principles and testimonies. Guilford is led by Jane Fernandes, the College’s ninth president and the first deaf woman to lead a college or university in the U.S. Learn more about this distinctive institution at guilford.edu.