Professor Emeritus Walter J. Nicgorski of Notre Dame speaks April 23

Notre Dame Professor Emeritus Walter J. Nicgorski will speak on the campus of Furman University Monday, April 23 at 7 p.m. in Daniel Memorial Chapel. A reception with Nicgorski follows in the Bryan Garden Room of the Chapel.

Professor Emeritus Walter J. Nicgorski. Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame.

His CLP talk, “The Morality of the Liberal Arts,” is free and open to the public, and is this year’s Hesburgh Lecture presented by the Furman University Office of Spiritual Life in partnership with the Notre Dame Club of the Western Carolinas and the university’s Catholic Campus Ministry.

Nicgorski’s lecture addresses the question, “Does the exercise of the critical faculties and the broadening experience of a liberal education contribute to or undermine good character and good citizenship?” Nicgorski’s goal is to clarify the differences between general learning, technical expertise, the liberal arts, and the humanities.

Nicgorski received his master’s (1962) and doctorate (1966) from the University of Chicago. He is a classically-trained political theorist whose primary interests are the political thought of Cicero, that of the American founding, democratic theory, as well as the theory and practice of moral and liberal education.

He has held a Lilly Endowment faculty fellowship and research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Bradley Foundation and the Earhart Foundation. Nicgorski concurrently served as a professor in the Program of Liberal Studies and the Political Science Department at the University of Notre Dame from 1970-2012.

Established in 1986, the Hesburgh Lecture Series aims to encourage intellectual dialogue between alumni, community members and the distinguished faculty of Furman’s sister university, Notre Dame. Each year, Notre Dame faculty members deliver more than 200 presentations around the world. The series is named for Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.

For more information, contact Susan Bennett, Furman University Office of Spiritual Life, at 864-294-2133 and susan.bennett@furman.edu. Or contact the News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.