During the 2024-25 academic year, Elon University will host six speakers, including retired U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Pulitzer Prize winning author Jonathan Eig who will give the Martin Luther Commemorative Address. 

This year’s speaker series will thematically explore “foundations for leadership and innovation,” according to the university’s website. All tickets for the speaker series will be free for students, staff and faculty and cost $15 for those without an Elon ID. 

Elon Common Reading Lecture: Leah Thomas

Thomas is an environmentalist who explores the relationship between social justice and environmentalism. Her goal is to provide educational resources about intersectional environmentalism and promote inclusivity and accessibility within environmental education and movements. Thomas is the founder of the nonprofit Intersectional Environmentalist and author of “The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet.”  Thomas will speak at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19 in Alumni Gym.

2024 Fall Convocation: Arthur Brooks

Arthur C. Brooks is a professor of the practice of public and nonprofit leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses about leadership and happiness. Brooks is the author of 13 books, including the two New York Times bestsellers. Brooks will be speaking at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 in Alumni Gym.

Carol Ann Walker International Lectureship: Retired Admiral Mike Mullen

Adm. Mike Mullen served as the 28th chief of Naval Operations from 2005-07 and was the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama from 2007-11. Mullen improved innovative technologies, aided emerging global partnerships and promoted new methods for countering terrorism, which culminated in the killing of Osama bin Laden. He led the elimination of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which allowed for the open service of gay and lesbian military members. 

Mullen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, Harvard Business School, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a trustee of Caltech. He currently serves as president of MGM Consulting, LLC, based in Annapolis, Maryland. Mullen will be speaking at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 in McCrary Theater located in the Center for the Arts. 

Martin Luther Commemorative Address: Jonathan Eig

Jonathan Eig is the author of six books, four of them New York Times bestsellers, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of “King: A Life.” The New York Times hailed “King: A Life” as the “definitive” biography of Martin Luther King Jr. The book was awarded the New York Historical Society’s 2024 Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize, which is presented annually to the nation’s best work of history or biography.  Eig will be speaking at 6 p.m. on Jan. 9 in McCrary Theater located in the Center for the Arts.

The Baird Lecture: Vernice Armour

Vernice Armour made history during Operation Iraqi Freedom as America’s first African American female combat pilot. After completing two tours as a U.S. Marine in Iraq, Armour launched VAI Consulting and Training LLC. Through her consulting and training firm, she helps individuals and organizations make moves to create breakthrough results by applying her “Zero to Breakthrough Success Model.” She has also been a running back for the San Diego Sunfire professional women’s football team and two-time title holder of Camp Pendleton’s Strongest Warrior Competition. Armour will be speaking at 7 p.m. on March 13 in Alumni Gym.

James P. Elder Lecture: Frederick M. Lawrence

CEO and secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Frederick Lawrence is a distinguished lecturer at the Georgetown Law Center, and he previously served as president of Brandeis University, dean of the George Washington University Law School and visiting professor and senior research scholar at Yale Law School. 

He is the author of “Punishing Hate: Bias Crimes Under American Law,” an opinion contributor to The Hill and U.S. News & World Report and frequently contributes opinion pieces to Newsweek, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Observer, The New York Daily News and The Huffington Post. Lawrence will be speaking at 6:30 p.m. on April 3 in Whitley Auditorium.