Series Speakers

Since its inception in 1966, the Landon Lecture Series has welcomed hundreds of influential and inspirational individuals to its stage. From foreign heads of state to Fortune 500 company CEOs, Landon speakers have historically underscored current tones and cultural shifts felt around the globe.

2024

Speaker	Date
Laura Kelly Governor of Kansas For a Healthier Kansas, We Need a Healthier Political Discourse	February 16, 2024

Speaker

Date

Laura Kelly

Governor of Kansas
For a Healthier Kansas, We Need a Healthier Political Discourse

February 16, 2024

2023

There were no Landon Lectures during this year.

2022

Speaker	Date
David Beasley Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Kansas' Legacy in Global Food Security	November 3, 2022

Speaker

Date

David Beasley

Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme
Kansas' Legacy in Global Food Security

November 3, 2022

2021

There were no Landon Lectures during this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

2020

Speaker	Date
Juan Manuel Santos former President of Colombia and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate From Hawk to Dove	February 4, 2020

Speaker

Date

Juan Manuel Santos

former President of Colombia and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
From Hawk to Dove

February 4, 2020

2019

Speaker	Date
Alan Murray CEO of Fortune The Future of Facts: Searching for Truth in the 21st Century	September 27, 2019
Michael Pompeo U.S. Secretary of State In Defense of the American Rights Tradition	September 6, 2019

Speaker

Date

Alan Murray

CEO of Fortune
The Future of Facts: Searching for Truth in the 21st Century

September 27, 2019

Michael Pompeo

U.S. Secretary of State
In Defense of the American Rights Tradition

September 6, 2019

2018

Speaker	Date
Sonny Perdue U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Leave It Better Than You Found It: Lessons in Public Service I Learned on the Farm	November 1, 2018
Jerry Moran U.S. Senator, Kansas Answering the Call: Serving a Global Society Post 9/11	September 11, 2018
Joyce Banda former president of Malawi America's Role in Promoting Gender Equality and Development Worldwide: Lessons from Africa	January 29, 2018

2017

Speaker	Date
Martin Baron Executive editor for the Washington Post	April 6, 2017

Speaker

Date

Martin Baron

Executive editor for the Washington Post

April 6, 2017

2016

Speaker	Date
Dr. Temple Grandin Author, world-renowned autism spokesperson, consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior and professor of animal science at Colorado State University Successful Education of Students with Different Kinds of Minds	November 29, 2016
Navy Adm. Cecil Haney Outgoing commander of the U.S. Strategic Command	October 21, 2016
Higher Education Panel of Kansas State University Alumni Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen Jr., David Hall and Bud Peterson Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; president of the University of the Virgin Islands; and president of Georgia Institute of Technology	September 26, 2016
Wes Bush CEO of Northrop Grumman	September 6, 2016
Luis Guillermo Solís President of Costa Rica	May 19, 2016
Dr. Mehmood Khan PepsiCo vice chairman and chief scientific officer, global research and development Choose Both	April 25, 2016
John Avlon and Margaret Hoover Political pundits	April 15, 2016
H.W. Brands Historian, author and the Jack S. Blanton Sr. chair in history at the University of Texas, Austin Reagan brought parties together	April 7, 2016

2015

Speaker	Date
Jeh Johnson U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security The New Realities of Homeland Security	May 27, 2015
Steve Forbes Chairman and Editor in Chief of Forbes Media Remarks About the U.S. and the Global Economy	March 9, 2015

Speaker

Date

Jeh Johnson

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
The New Realities of Homeland Security

May 27, 2015

Steve Forbes

Chairman and Editor in Chief of Forbes Media
Remarks About the U.S. and the Global Economy

March 9, 2015

2014

Speaker	Date
Thomas Donilon Former National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama A Morning with Thomas Donilon	April 15, 2014
John Skipper, Bob Bowlsby, DeLoss Dodds and Kirk Schulz ESPN Inc. President; Big 12 Commissioner; Former University of Texas Athletics Director; and President of Kansas State University Experts on College Athletics	April 2, 2014

2013

Speaker	Date
Mike Johanns, Ann Veneman, Dan Glickman, Ed Schafer, Mike Espy and John Block Six Former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture A Conversation with the Secretaries	Oct. 21, 2013
Michael Oren Israeli Ambassador Israel, the Ultimate Ally	Jan. 29, 2013

2012

Speaker	Date
Martin Dempsey U.S. Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Image of a Veteran	Oct. 1, 2012
Tom Vilsack U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Why America Needs Agriculture	April 10, 2012

2011

Speaker	Date
Alan K. Simpson Former U.S. Senator, Wyoming Shared Sacrifice and Going Broke	Oct. 26, 2011
Sonia Sotomayor Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court	Jan. 27, 2011

2010

Speaker	Date
Kathleen Sebelius U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Health Care in Transition — A New Era	Nov. 29, 2010
Michael G. Mullen U.S. Navy Admiral and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The Nature of War Today	March 3, 2010
Dennis C. Blair Director of National Intelligence The National Intelligence Community	Feb. 22, 2010

2009

Speaker	Date
Sheila C. Bair Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The Financial Crisis: How Did It Happen and What to do About It	Nov. 2, 2009
David Petraeus U.S. Army General and Commander of the U.S. Central Command Counterinsurgency Approaches in Iraq and Afghanistan	April 27, 2009

2008

Speaker	Date
Vicente Fox Former President of Mexico U.S. and Mexico: My Hope for a Prosperous Future	Sept. 23, 2008
Michael Hayden U.S. Air Force General and Director of Central Intelligence Agency The CIA and Global Trends in the 21st Century	April 30, 2008
H.E. Zhou Wenzhong Chinese Ambassador The Current State of U.S.-China Relations	Feb. 11, 2008

2007

Speaker	Date
Robert Gates U.S. Secretary of Defense National Power: Soft Power and Hard Power	Nov. 26, 2007
Bill Clinton Former U.S. President New Challenges in International Relations II	March 2, 2007
Prince Turki Al-Faisal Outgoing Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. New Challenges in International Relations	Jan. 26, 2007

2006

Speaker	Date
Donald Rumsfeld U.S. Secretary of Defense A Time of Peril	Nov. 9, 2006
John Hofmeister President of Shell Oil Co. The Energy Situation Today and in the Future	Sept. 8, 2006
Lech Walesa Former President of Poland and a Trade Union Activist My Perspectives on the History of Poland and its Role in Creating the Modern World	April 13, 2006
Sam Brownback U.S. Senator, Kansas American Exceptionalism	Feb. 22, 2006
George W. Bush U.S. President Presidential Decision-making	Jan. 23, 2006

2005

Speaker	Date
Ted Turner Co-founder of CNN and Other Major Cable Network Channels and World-renowned Philanthropist The Future of the World as I See It	Nov. 28, 2005
Mikhail Gorbachev Former President of the U.S.S.R. Russia and the New World Order	Oct. 28, 2005
Ryozo Kato Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Sharing a Global Mission	Oct. 18, 2005
Brian Williams Anchor and Managing Editor of "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" Reflections on the Power of Television and Modern Life	May 3, 2005
Jim Lehrer Executive Editor and Anchor of "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS Politics and the Discourse Deficit	April 4, 2005
Lee Hamilton Vice Chair of the 9-11 Commission Security in America After 9-11	March 29, 2005

2004

Speaker	Date
Bill Schneider Senior Political Analyst at CNN Political Analysis of the 2004 Presidential Election	Nov. 16, 2004
Arthur Sulzberger Jr. Publisher of The New York Times The Problem with Modern Political Discourse	Sept. 13, 2004
Tom Daschle U.S. Senator, South Dakota, and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Can We Talk? Free Speech and Civil Discourse in Turbulent Times	May 10, 2004
Pat Roberts U.S. Senator, Kansas Reforming the Intelligence Community in the Age of Global Terrorism	May 3, 2004
Robert Mueller Director of the FBI The FBI: Changing to Meet Today's Challenges	April 13, 2004

2003

Speaker	Date
Paul Harvey Radio Newsman A Message of Freedom with Responsibility	Sept. 19, 2003
Ashleigh Banfield MSNBC Anchor TV Cable News and War Coverage	April 24, 2003
Michael Beschloss Presidential Historian Hindsight vs. Real Time: Assessing the Actions of the Presidency	March 6, 2003
Chuck Hagel U.S. Senator, Nebraska America's Purpose in the World	Feb. 20, 2003

2002

Speaker	Date
Gale Norton U.S. Secretary of the Interior The New Environmentalism and Creating Citizen Conservationists	May 6, 2002
J.C. Watts Jr. U.S. Representative, Oklahoma Sustaining the Greatness of America	April 26, 2002
David McCullough Pulitzer Prize-winning Author The Founders: The Greatest Generation	Feb. 1, 2002

2001

Speaker	Date
David Gergen Editor-at-large of U.S. News and World Report Sept. 11 is a New Call to Public Service	Nov. 2, 2001
Dr. David Satcher U.S. Surgeon General A Prescription for the American People	Sept. 20, 2001
Ernesto Zedillo Former President of Mexico More, Not Less, Globalization is the Answer	May 3, 2001
Stephen Ambrose Historian and Author Eisenhower: A Great and Good Man	April 19, 2001

2000

Speaker	Date
Donna E. Shalala U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services The Five Challenges of Supporting Health Care: A Vision for the Highest and the Common Good	Nov. 17, 2000
Richard B. Myers U.S. Air Force General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Why We Serve	April 26, 2000
Bob Woodward Investigative Journalist A Little Honest Communication: Four Questions About Politics and the Media	March 29, 2000

1999

Speaker	Date
Henry Hyde U.S. Representative, Illinois Defining and Understanding Culture and Politics	Dec. 1, 1999
Cokie Roberts Political Analyst for ABC News Presidential Campaign Politics, the Gender Gap, and the Power Split Between Congress and the Presidency	Nov. 8, 1999
John McCain U.S. Senator, Arizona Building a Better America	March 15, 1999
Howard Baker Former U.S. Senator, Tennessee Our Remarkable System of Government: Its Future in an Uncertain World	March 9, 1999

1998

There were no Landon Lectures during this year.

1997

Speaker	Date
Sam Donaldson ABC News Veteran The State of Television News Today	Nov. 21, 1997
Phil Gramm U.S. Senator, Texas How to Reform Medicare and Social Security	Oct. 17, 1997
William S. Cohen U.S. Secretary of Defense Staying the Course: Our Legacy and Our Destiny	Sept. 12, 1997
Doris Kearns Goodwin 1995 Pulitzer Prize Winner in History The Past in All its Beauty, Sorrow, Glory	April 22, 1997

1996

Speaker	Date
Marlin Fitzwater Former Press Secretary to Presidents Reagan and Bush Surfing the Tidal Wave: Changes in the Practice of Journalism	Nov. 21, 1996
Nancy Landon Kassebaum U.S. Senator, Kansas The Intersection of Hope and Doubt	Sept. 9, 1996
Henry Kissinger Former U.S. Secretary of State Different Histories, Different Conceptions: The New World and Our Role in International Relations	April 29, 1996
Wojciech Jaruzelski Former President of Poland Moving Poland Toward Democracy	March 11, 1996
Harold Varmus Director of the National Institutes of Health Gene Research: A Biological Frontier	Feb. 5, 1996

1995

Speaker	Date
Janet Reno U.S. Attorney General Our Children, Our Communities	Oct. 24, 1995
Dan Glickman U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Securing Our Place in the Global Economy	Sept. 8, 1995
William Raspberry Urban Affairs Columnist for The Washington Post A Crisis of Community	April 13, 1995
William Perry U.S. Secretary of Defense The Consequences and Choices of Alternative Security Policies in Bosnia	March 9, 1995
H. Ross Perot Former Presidential Candidate and Businessman Career Advice for the 21st Century	Jan. 24, 1995

1994

Speaker	Date
Mike Espy U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Promises Made, Promises Kept	Feb. 3, 1994

1993

Speaker	Date
The Rev. Jesse Jackson Civil Rights Leader and Activist Trapped in the Trade Winds of Our Times: Violence and Crime in America	Nov. 29, 1993
Pat Robertson Founder of Christian Broadcast Network The Turning Tide	Oct. 12, 1993
Robert Strauss Former U.S. Ambassador to Soviet Union Participating in the Promise of Spring in Russia	May 5, 1993

1992

Speaker	Date
Bernard Shaw CNN Principal Washington Anchor An Uneven Playing Field in America	Nov. 20, 1992
Lynne Cheney Director of National Endowment for the Humanities Let's Get Back to Teaching Truths	Oct. 30, 1992
Lamar Alexander U.S. Secretary of Education Education in Transition	Oct. 7, 1992
Violeta Chamorro President of Nicaragua Changing the State of History in Nicaragua	April 8, 1992

1991

Speaker	Date
Lawrence Douglas Wilder Governor of Virginia The Need for Change	Oct. 30, 1991
David L. Boren U.S. Senator, Oklahoma The Next Century: Is America Ready for It?	Oct. 14, 1991
Jimmy Carter Former U.S. President Life After the White House: Global Issues and the Middle East	April 26, 1991
Bill Bradley U.S. Senator, New Jersey The New World Challenges America Faces	April 15, 1991

1990

Speaker	Date
Richard H. Truly Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy, Former Astronaut and Current NASA Administrator The Exploration of Space	Dec. 12, 1990
Elizabeth Dole U.S. Secretary of Labor Reflections on the State of the American Workforce	Oct. 31, 1990
Abba Eban Former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. Prospects for Peace in the Middle East	Jan. 29, 1990

1989

Speaker	Date
Colin Powell U.S. Army General and Commander in Chief at Forces Command Is the Future What It Used to Be?	Nov. 8, 1989
Clayton Yeutter U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Get Sophisticated in Your Education	Oct. 3, 1989

1988

Speaker	Date
Sandra Day O'Connor Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Establishing Justice	Feb. 16, 1988
Vernon Walters U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Successes of the United Nations	Nov. 11, 1988
Barbara Tuchman Historian and Author Where Are the Progressive Republicans	Sept. 8, 1988
Jim Wright U.S. Representative, Texas, and Speaker of the U.S. House Mediocrity is Not Our Destiny	April 25, 1988

1987

Speaker	Date
Oscar Arias Sanchez President of Costa Rica History is Ours to Write	Sept. 21, 1987
Nancy Landon Kassebaum U.S. Senator, Kansas The Challenge of Change	Sept. 9, 1987
Franco Modigliani Nobel Prize-winning Economist What We Have Learned from the Reagan Economic Experience	April 21, 1987
George F. Will ABC News Personality and Columnist The Right to Pay Taxes	April 15, 1987

1986

Speaker	Date
William J. Bennett U.S. Secretary of Education Once More: A Plea for History	Sept. 9, 1986
George P. Shultz U.S. Secretary of State Moral Principles and Strategic Interests: The Worldwide Movement Toward Democracy	April 14, 1986
Tom Brokaw NBC News Anchor Television News in a Changing World	March 24, 1986

1985

Speaker	Date
George H.W. Bush U.S. Vice President Looking Forward to the Summit Conference	Sept. 9, 1985
Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. U.S. Representative, Massachusetts, and Speaker of the U.S. House Half a Century of American Achievement	April 22, 1985
Bob Dole U.S. Senator, Kansas The Dream of America	March 25, 1985

1984

Speaker	Date
Lesley Stahl CBS White House Correspondent The Press and the President	Nov. 29, 1984
Jose Napoleon Duarte President of El Salvador The Democratic Process in El Salvador: The Meeting at La Palma	Nov. 2, 1984
Caspar Weinberger U.S. Secretary of Defense Arms Reduction and the SDI	Sept. 27, 1984
Tom Bradley Mayor of Los Angeles There Are No Impossible Dreams for Possibility Thinkers	April 16, 1984
Hodding Carter III Anchorman and Chief Correspondent, PBS' "Inside Story" Whose News Is It?	April 6, 1984
Patricia Schroeder U.S. Representative, Colorado Great Expectations: From Abigail Adams to the White House	March 19, 1984
Edward M. Kennedy U.S. Senator, Massachusetts The Changing Relationship Between Politics and Public Policy	Jan. 30, 1984

1983

Speaker	Date
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani Saudi Arabian Minister of Oil Control and Decontrol in the Oil Market	March 28, 1983

1982

Speaker	Date
Charles Kuralt CBS News Correspondent America: The Long View	Nov. 22, 1982
Ronald Reagan U.S. President Rebuilding America	Sept. 9, 1982
Mark Hatfield U.S. Senator, Oregon Foreign Policy in a Transition Era	April 26, 1982

1981

Speaker	Date
John R. Block U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Clearing the Road for Tomorrow	Oct. 30, 1981
Sir Harold Wilson Former British prime minister Western World: Economic Crisis	Sept. 30, 1981
Paul A. Volcker Federal Reserve Chairman Dealing with Inflation: Obstacles and Opportunities	April 15, 1981
George Gallup Jr. President of the Gallup Poll The Mood of America	Feb. 11, 1981

1980

Speaker	Date
Edmund S. Muskie U.S. Secretary of State Longer-term Issues	Dec. 4, 1980
James R. Schlesinger Former U.S. Secretary of Energy American Security and Energy Policy	April 28, 1980
Hugh Sidey Time Magazine Political and White House Correspondent Power and the Media	March 27, 1980
John Connally Governor of Texas America in the '80s	March 20, 1980
Barry Goldwater U.S. Senator, Arizona The World Today	Feb. 25, 1980

1979

Speaker	Date
Walter F. Mondale U.S. Vice President SALT II: An American Decision	July 17, 1979
Shirley Temple Black Movie Star and U.S. Ambassador It's All Perceptions Now	April 10, 1979
Norman Borlaug Agriculture Scientist Civilization Will Depend More Upon Flourishing Crops Than on Flowery Rhetoric	March 20, 1979
Howard Baker U.S. Senator, Tennessee Toward a New Republic	March 8, 1979

1978

Speaker	Date
Charles Collingwood CBS News Correspondent Reflections on Power (and Influence)	Nov. 3, 1978
Milton Friedman Nobel Prize-winning Economist Free Trade: Producer versus Consumer	April 27, 1978
Gerald R. Ford Former U.S. President The War Powers Resolution	Feb. 20, 1978
Malcolm S. Forbes President and Editor, Forbes Magazine Where We're At and Where We're Headed	Jan. 24, 1978

1977

Speaker	Date
David Broder Political Analyst and Pulitzer Prize Winner American Politics in the Carter Era	Dec. 9, 1977
Bob Bergland U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Toward a National Food Policy	Sept. 9, 1977
Mike Mansfield Former U.S. Senator, Montana, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Best of Times, Worst of Times	April 12, 1977
Charles H. Percy U.S. Senator, Illinois Does the United States Have a Responsibility to Feed the World?	March 4, 1977

1976

Speaker	Date
Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Senator, Missouri 1977: Year of Opportunity in the Middle East?	Dec. 8, 1976
Carl T. Rowan Journalist What Jimmy Carter's Election Will Mean	Nov. 18, 1976
Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. U.S. Senator, Maryland The Alternatives to Detente	April 27, 1976
Henry M. Jackson U.S. Senator, Washington America and Freedom's Future	Jan. 21, 1976

1975

Speaker	Date
Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Ambassador to India The World in the Year Ahead	May 6, 1975
William E. Simon U.S. Secretary of Treasury Restoring Our Prosperity	March 18, 1975
William Fulbright Former U.S. Senator, Arkansas Energy and the Middle East: Interests and Illusions	Feb. 13, 1975

1974

Speaker	Date
Walter H. Heller Regents Professor of Economics at University of Minnesota The Energy Crisis and the Economy	March. 19, 1974
The Rev. Billy Graham Evangelist The Divine Answer to the National Dilemma	March 4, 1974
Anne Armstrong Presidential Counselor Crisis and Challenge	Feb. 12, 1974

1973

Speaker	Date
William F. Buckley Author, Editor and Lecturer The Assault on the Free Market	Nov. 2, 1973
Alexander M. Haig U.S. Army General and Vice Chief of Staff A Strategic Overview	April 24, 1973
Alan Shepard U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and U.S. Astronaut How Do We Stand in Space?	April 3, 1973

1972

Speaker	Date
Dan Rather CBS White House Correspondent Reporter's Notes	Nov. 16, 1972
Earl L. Butz U.S. Secretary of Agriculture The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare For It	May 4, 1972
William D. Ruckelshaus Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency The Crisis of Trust and the Environmental Movement	April 12, 1972
Elliot Richardson U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Human Needs and Government: A Realistic Assessment	Jan. 24, 1972

1971

Speaker	Date
Leonard Woodcock President of the United Auto Workers The Economic Game Plan	Oct. 19, 1971
John Kenneth Galbraith Economist Foreign Policy: The Next Reform	May 6, 1971
Hugh Scott U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania Implications of Foreign Policy	April 26, 1971

1970

Speaker	Date
Earl Warren Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court The Alternative is Chaos	Oct. 21, 1970
Richard M. Nixon U.S. President It's Time to Stand Up and Be Counted	Sept. 16, 1970
Walter J. Hickel U.S. Secretary of Interior Be Part of the Solution, Not Part of the Problem	April 6, 1970
The Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Archbishop of the Titular See of Newport (Wales) Three Forms of Love	March 16, 1970
Hubert H. Humphrey Former U.S. Vice President How We Can Make Our Government Work	Jan. 9, 1970

1969

Speaker	Date
Edward W. Brooke U.S. Senator, Massachusetts National Security: Dollars, Demands and Dilemmas	Oct. 6, 1969
Gen. W.C. Westmoreland U.S. Army Chief of Staff The Role of the U.S. Army in Today's World	April 9, 1969
Mike Mansfield U.S. Senator, Montana, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader A Pacific Perspective	March 10, 1969

1968

Speaker	Date
Arthur Schlesinger Former Presidential Adviser The 1968 Election: A Historical Perspective	Nov. 14, 1968
Nelson A. Rockefeller Governor of New York Our Country's Problems, Solutions	May 9, 1968
Robert F. Kennedy U.S. Senator, New York Conflict in Vietnam and at Home	March 18, 1968

1967

Speaker	Date
George Romney Governor of Michigan The Challenge of International Development	Dec. 6, 1967
Ronald Reagan Governor of California Higher Education: Its Role in Contemporary America	Oct. 26, 1967
Ralph McGill Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist and Publisher The Emerging South: Politics and Issues	May 17, 1967

1966

Speaker	Date
Alfred M. Landon Former Governor of Kansas and Former Presidential Candidate New Challenges in International Relations	Dec. 13, 1966