The purpose of the Western Carolina University Chancellor's Speaker Series is to bring significant figures to campus to discuss major issues of the day, and to provide Western Carolina students with opportunities to interact with some of the people who have shaped and influenced our world. In addition to delivering a public address, participants in the series will take time to talk with Western Carolina students in smaller group settings. The university will seek to bring major speakers to the campus on a regular basis under the auspices of the Chancellor's Speaker Series.

February 2, 2009
Garrison Keillor
Humorist and writer

November 18, 2008
Kathy Reichs
Forensic Anthropologist and best-selling novelist
 
September 18, 2006
General Richard B. Myers, USAF, Ret.
”World War ‘X’: What’s at Stake in the Global War on Terror”

February 7, 2002
Joycelyn Elders, Former U.S. Surgeon General
"Education and Personal Responsibility"

November 5, 2001
Lech Walesa
"Democracy: The Never-Ending Battle"

October 2, 2001
Jamie Clark
"Above All Else"

March 1, 2001
Alan M. Dershowitz
"Why Good Lawyers Defend Bad People"

October 4, 2000
Pat Summitt
"The Definite Dozen"

March 15, 2000
Chancellor's Science Symposium
"Biodiversity: New Perspectives on its Magnitude and Meaning" featuring
Daniel Janzen, Frederick Turner, Matthew Kane

February 15, 2000
Senator John Edwards

February 9, 2000
Danny Glover/Felix Justice
"An Evening with Martin and Langston"

October 4, 1999
Jane Bryant Quinn
"How to Invest and Control Your Risks in Markets That Are Off the Charts"

April 16, 1999
Chancellor's Science Symposium
"Decoding the Human Genome" featuring
J. Craig Venter, Arthur Caplan, and Samuel Broder

December 1, 1998
Bob Dole
"Experiences and Views of an American Statesman"