Carleton Convos

Carleton’s Opening Convocation is the first campus-wide event of a new academic year. It is a time of joy as we reassemble to engage in discovery and exploration. An important tradition, the Opening Convocation ceremony is intended both to affirm continuity with the past and to embrace new beginnings.

This year’s keynote address was given by Governor Tim Walz, keeping with a long tradition of Minnesota governors speakin...

KARE 11 news anchor Jana Shortal delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, May 1, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Shortal, who has worked at KARE 11 for 22 years, has been a crucial reporter in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge, braving pepper spray from federal agents to report the news. Their convocation address, “The Surge,” is focused on their experience reporting Minnesota’s federal...

Documentarian and journalist Fred de Sam Lazaro gave Carleton’s convocation address, “Storytelling to Make the Foreign Less Foreign,” on Friday, April 24, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel.

He has served as a PBS NewsHour correspondent since 1985, reporting from over 70 different countries. He also served as a regular contributor and substitute anchor for PBS’s Religion & Ethics N...

hen people take to the streets, the press plays an essential role, documenting events, deepening understanding, and ensuring that fundamental rights are protected. But are the rights of journalists secure?

Joel Simon — who gave convocation at Carleton on Friday, April 17, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel — began his career as a correspondent in Latin America. There, he cut his teeth covering demonstrations bef...

Comedy writer Peter Gwinn ’93 delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, April 10, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “How to Be a Comedian When Nothing is Funny.”

Gwinn worked as one of the original writers on The Colbert Report, which was awarded two Emmys (and eight Emmy nominations), three Writers Guild Awards (and six WGA nominations), and two Peabody Awards du...

Carleton’s convocation series returned for spring term with Andrew Little ’06, associate professor of political science at University of California–Berkeley, whose address is titled, “The Case Against Pessimism About Democracy.” He spoke at Carleton on Friday, April 3, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel.

Little’s research often focuses on how beliefs and biases about the political world a...

Spike Carlsen — writer, editor, and woodworker — delivered Carleton convocation on Friday, February 27, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His talk was titled, “Writing with Dirt Under your Fingernails… in a Well-Manicured AI World.” 

Carlsen has been writing about the world and how it works for the past 30 years. He was an editor with the home improvement division of Readers’...

Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, February 20, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Climate Change: A Global and Local Perspective,” was grounded in his personal expertise. 

Sundgaard’s passion for winter weather started when he began monitoring snowfall as an eighth-grade ski jumper, and has propelled him into a keystone of weather reporting i...

The Honorable Alan Page delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, February 13, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. For his convocation, Page will be in conversation with Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Carolyn Livingston.

After serving as an attorney in the office of the Minnesota Attorney General, Page sought election to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1992 and won, becoming the first African Am...

Steve Grove ’00 has spent his career at the intersection of politics, media, and tech. On Friday, February 6, Gove shared his experience in his convocation address, “Tech, Media, Government: The Power of Going Local to Make Change,” from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Grove has become a national voice on the power of local action to rebuild American institutions, and his talk will explore what he’s l...

Award-winning podcaster, writer, and political scientist Brian Klaas ’08 delivered Carleton’s weekly convocation on Friday, January 30, from 10:50 to 11:00 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Fluke: How Chance, Luck, and Chaos Theory Explain Our World,” exemplifies his interdisciplinary expertise in the studies of democracy, authoritarianism, political violence, elections, and American politics.

Klaas has ...

Aaron Golub’s career as a motivational speaker has taken him from high schools to speaking for U.S. Bank — but before that, he was the first legally blind Division I football player to compete in the NCAA. His Carleton convocation address, “Achieving Goals Through Adversity,” took place on Friday, January 16 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel.

Golub’s passion for public speaking began at the ag...

Louie McGee is a law student in his final year at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Iron Man triathlon finisher, disability advocate, and blind. He delivered Carleton’s first convocation of 2026 on Friday, January 9, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “Guiding Access to Change.”

Pursuing a life that breaks through the boun...

Danielle Boyer is an Anishinaabe (enrolled Sault Tribe) educator, robotics inventor, activist, and visionary. She delivered Carleton’s final convocation of fall term on Friday, November 7, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Boyer’s mission has centered around sharing robotics knowledge and language revitalization with Indigenous children, looking at how emerging technologies can be ethically used to drive Indig...

Marc Schulz, associate director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and Bryn Mawr psychology professor, delivered Carleton’s convocation on Friday, October 31, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. In his address, “The Good Life: Lessons for Living from the World’s Longest Study of Well-Being,” Schulz will share insights from his work with the Harvard Study of Adult Development, as discussed in h...

Brandon Blackwell’s skill in trivia quizzes has brought him around the world — next stop, Carleton College! Blackwell’s address, “Adventures in Quizzing, Apology of a Tryhard,” took place on Friday, October 24, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. An internationally renowned quizzer, Blackwell finished second in the Junior World Quizzing Championships in 2020, with the majority of his success co...

Often known as The Ice Cream Scientist™, Dr. Maya Warren ’07 is a food scientist, public speaker, TV personality, and advocate for civic engagement. Her convocation address, “For the Love of Ice Cream,” took place on Friday, October 17, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. An in-demand keynote speaker, Warren’s addresses often focus on blending science, storytelling, and global exploration to make the...

Jonathan Mooney, a nationally recognized advocate for neurological and physical diversity, delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, October 3, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Normal Sucks and the Right to Be Different,” explores themes of reimagining education to acknowledge and embrace neurodiversity. Mooney is an award-winning writer, entrepreneur, and activist who has spoken...

Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarica, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Youngstown State University, delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, October 10, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “Re-Indigenizing Our Teaching Practices.” Her expertise stems from her experience teaching mathematics and her unique teaching style, which focuses on ...