The F. B. Watts Memorial Lectures, commonly known as the Watts Lectures, is a series of

public lecture A public lecture (also known as an open lecture) is one means employed for educating the public. Gresham College, in London, has been providing free public lectures since its founding in 1597 through the will of Sir Thomas Gresham. The Royal S ...

s held at the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough (abbreviated as U of T Scarborough or UTSC) is a division of the University of Toronto and one of its three campuses, located in the Scarborough, Ontario, Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

several times annually. It was established in 1970 and named after Fred Watts, a former professor of geography at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and founding member of the University of Toronto Scarborough, initially known as Scarborough College, who died a year before the inception of the lecture series. The series was inaugurated by

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

, former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

List of lecturers

* 1970 —

, "Partners in Development" * 1971 — Noel Annan, Baron Annan, "What Is a University For Anyway?" * 1974 — Gerhard Herzberg, "Science & Society" * 1975 —

Raymond Moriyama Raymond Junichi Moriyama (October 11, 1929 – September 1, 2023) was a Canadian architect. The private practice in Toronto he co-founded with Ted Teshima, Moriyama & Teshima Architects, was renowned for designing many major buildings across ...

, "Can Your Life Become a Work of Art?" * 1976 — David Lewis, "Corporate Power Today: The Image and the Reality" * 1978 —

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

* 1981 —

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

* 1982 — J. M. S. Careless * 1982 — Flora MacDonald * 1983 — Alfonso García Robles * 1983 — Hans Küng * 1984 — David Suzuki * 1985 —

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s and was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democr ...

* 1986 — Bob White * 1988 — Thomas R. Berger * 1990 — Edwin Mirvish * 1991 — Georges Erasmus * 1992 —

Judy Rebick Judy Rebick (born August 15, 1945) is a Canadian writer, journalist, political activist, and feminist. Early life Born in Reno, Nevada, Rebick and her family moved to Toronto when she was 9. She became a socialist activist in the 1970s, joining ...

* 1993 — Major-General Lewis MacKenzie * 1994 —

Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah (Dari language, Dari, , ; born Abdullah; 5 September 1960) is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government was Fall of Kabul (2021), ...

and Itzhak Shelef * 1995 — Roberta Bondar * 1999 — David Phillips * 2000 — Roberta Jamieson * 2001 — Mark Tewksbury * 2002 —

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

* 2003 — Preston Manning * 2004 — Joe Schlesinger * 2005 — Dr. James Orbinski * 2005 — Dr. Sheela Basrur * 2011 —

Roméo Dallaire Roméo Antonius Dallaire (born June 25, 1946) is a retired Canadian politician and military officer who was a senator from Quebec from 2005 to 2014, and a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Armed Forces. He notably was the force commander of U ...

* 2012 — David Suzuki * 2014 —

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

* 2019 —

Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the ...

References

{{University of Toronto University of Toronto University and college lecture series 1970 establishments in Ontario Education in Scarborough, Ontario Recurring events established in 1970

List of lecturers

See also

References