Speaker series offers free lectures to public

The 2017-18 University of Dayton Speaker Series continues with talks from American Enterprise Institute president Arthur C. Brooks in March and tech entrepreneur Megan Smith in April.

All lectures are free and open to the public in the Kennedy Union ballroom.

Brooks’ talk will take place at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 21.

Before joining the American Enterprise Institute, Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship. Brooks is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and the bestselling author of 11 books on topics including the role of government, fairness, economic opportunity, happiness and the morality of free enterprise.

Smith will deliver the annual Brother Joseph W. Stander Symposium keynote address at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 17. She is an award-winning tech entrepreneur, engineer and evangelist. As the third U.S. chief technology officer, Smith helped former U.S. President Barack Obama harness the power of technology, data and innovation to advance the future of our nation and the world.

Prior to her role as U.S. chief technology officer, Smith served as vice president of new business development at Google, managing early stage partnerships across the company’s global engineering and product teams.

She led acquisitions of Google Earth, Maps and Picasa, steered the shift of Google.org to include more direct engineering impact, such as Google Crisis Response. Smith is an adviser to the MIT Media Lab, Vital Voices, and the Malala Fund, which she co-founded.