College-Sponsored Lectures and Tours

Learn more about this remarkable Vassar jewel and its younger companion, The Infant and Toddler Center (ITC) during this presentation and conversation.

Ever wondered what drives the prioritization of Vassar’s asset renewal projects and strategic capital investments? Join us to find out.

Conservation, sustainability, and an exploration of the natural world are all core values at Vassar. Learn about one of the College’s greatest gems at this talk about the Preserve at Vassar. The talk will take place at the Vassar Barns and will be followed by an optional guided walking tour of the Preserve at 3:30 p.m. (weather permitting). Sensible shoes and long pants are strongly suggested.

Recent advances in one form of artificial intelligence (Large Language Models or LLMs) have raised important questions about how these systems might change how we live and work. We will consider the range of ways in which the emergence of LLM technology could change how humans think and interact with one another, potentially changing not only our social, economic, and political lives but quite possibly our private lives as well. Is it possible to manage the emergence of this new technology into human life in a way that enhances our humanity for the long term rather than diminishing or even destroying it?

Join us for a field trip to the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences to visit the college’s new state-of-the-art confocal microscope and to Skinner Hall’s Dickinson Music Library to learn about the digitization of 80 years of Vassar music-making—both made possible by highly competitive extramural grants.

An interview with renowned author Michael Gross ’74 about his new book, Flight of the Wasp: The Rise, Fall, and Future of America’s Original Ruling Class.

Enjoy a leisurely walk, discover fascinating fun facts about trees, and learn about the increasing importance of campus trees for our efforts to be more sustainable and achieve carbon neutrality. Our itinerary will include visits to the reuning classes’ class trees. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

Join the Honorable Richard W. Roberts ’74 for a glimpse at Paula Madison’s compelling documentary that chronicles her journey to her maternal grandfather’s homeland in China and the reconnection of her nuclear family with his 300+ descendants.

Watch Paula Madison’s documentary with the password FSLd!st5rn.

Join us for a special panel discussion reflecting on the history of Alumnae House, from the initial gift that led to its founding and the work of artist Violet Oakley, to the key role alums have played in sustaining and modernizing the house over the past century. Looking to the future, we'll discuss how this key part of Vassar's campus will remain a forever home that fosters a sense of belonging for alums across generations for the century ahead. Moderated by AAVC Board Director James Estrada ’13, Chair, Alumnae House Committee.

Kirsten Menking, Professor of Earth Science on the Althea Ward Clark Chair and Environmental Studies Program Director, has studied the history of climate change in central New Mexico (last ~70,000 years) through a combination of numerical modeling and lake sediment records from now dry Lake Estancia. Come hear what the lake has to tell us about the future of the climate in this arid region that is experiencing rapid population growth and has been designated as a site for nuclear waste disposal.

Delve into the multifaceted world of mental wellness at Vassar and in higher education. From proactive support structures to the evolving needs of today’s students, this session will engage attendees in a critical dialogue about the importance of mental health in the academic journey.

Join us for a wide-ranging discussion about how Cuba and the Cuban Revolution have shaped how we imagine human rights and social struggles across the Americas, how the quest for justice can go awry, what it means to live this history, and how it is inseparable from the history of the United States itself.

Enjoy a leisurely walk, discover fascinating fun facts about trees, and learn about the increasing importance of campus trees for our efforts to be more sustainable and achieve carbon neutrality. Our itinerary will include visits to the reuning classes’ class trees. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

Join members of classes of 1969, 1999, 2019, and 2024 for a non-hierarchical and intergenerational conversation where the audience members are the participants. Facilitated by Ellie Winter ’18, AAVC Board member and Chair of the Student and Young Alumnae/i Engagement Committee (SYAEC).

We all crave the awesome energy of inspiration, but what if we didn’t have to wait for it to strike on its own stingy schedule? What if each of us could be inspiring, summoning our own muse-like power to move the world? Michael Fanuele ’94, one of the world’s most successful marketing strategists, shares tips and tricks from his best-selling book that’ll help unleash the inspiring leader within us all. With insights from music, politics, business, neuroscience, and even a recipe for radishes, Stop Making Sense is a fun and provocative blueprint for leadership, which, according to Andrew Zimmern ’84, is exactly what you’d get “if Brene Brown and Simon Sinek had a book baby.”

Join two Vassar faculty members for an exploration of modern American culture through the lenses of their scholarship and current course offerings.

Join Robert Brigham, Professor of History and the Inaugural Faculty Director of The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts, and Olympia Management for a tour of the College’s newest community resource and a sneak peek into early Institute programming.