The Fairman Cowan Collegiate Lecture Series: The Intellectual Capital of Worcester

The Fairman Cowan Collegiate Lecture Series is free and open to the public.

RSVP to 508-799-7169 or .

Welcome to the intellectual capital of Worcester. 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. Founded in 1985, The Research Bureau serves the public interest of Greater Worcester by conducting independent research and analysis of public policy issues to promote informed public debate and decision-making.

In honor of our anniversary, we celebrate the critical role of the colleges and universities in the region. Every day, innovative thinking and groundbreaking research occurs on the twelve campuses of the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts. Concepts are developed that have wide-ranging impacts nationally and across the globe. Importantly, our higher education institutions also generate new ideas, new economic opportunities, and new talent that serve the region’s growth.

As part of our year-long 30th anniversary celebration, we offer the residents of Greater Worcester a glimpse of the topics in discussion on our college and university campuses. While The Research Bureau’s traditional focus is public policy, an informed electorate must also care about our context in the broader world. We introduce our supporters to the important connection between Worcester’s educational institutions and topics of national and international concern.

Each month of 2015, we will partner with one local educational institution to host an evening lecture by members of the faculty. While the topics are broad – from economics to education to technology to pharmacology to race to robots and everything in between – the Fairman Cowan Collegiate Lecture Series will challenge our residents to think and to understand how Worcester contributes to human understanding of the broader world.


February 17
Assumption College—Thomas White—Worcester Economic Index

February 24
Anna Maria College—Allen Brown, Dianne White, Michael Donnelly—Impact of Domestic Violence

March 19
Becker College—Paul David Cotnoir—Video Gaming Industry

April 22
Clark University
Thomas Del Prete—Education; Laurie Ross—Youth; John Rogan—Asian Longhorned Beetle

May 7
College of the Holy Cross—Daniel Klinghard—Reassessing Technology

June 24
MCPHS University —Laura Chadwick—Pharmacogenomics & Bioinformatics

July 8
Nichols College—Susan Engelkemeyer & Elizabeth Horgan—Millennial Workforce Readiness

August 27
Quinsigamond Community College
William McCarthy, Byron Thomas, Kirsten Daigneault—Public Policy & Race Relations

September 16
Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine—Andrew Hoffman—Regeneration Medicine

October 15
University of Massachusetts Medical School—Katherine Luzuriaga—Global Health & Infectious Disease

November 2
The Global Ergonomics of Ebola and Other Infectious Diseases: Combating Fear Through Innovation

December 9
Worcester State University—Madeline Otis Campbell—Global Migrations