DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURES – FALL 2026 VIDEOS

Coordinators: Arlynn Greenbaum, Bob Reiss, Karen Levin, Estelle Selzer

The Distinguished Guest Lecture Series enhances the Quest program experience by inviting recognized experts in their fields to present on varied subjects.

(Wednesday, B Week, PM, Auditorium, A, Greenbaum)

To view a video click on the link above its description.

DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURES
Making the Best of What’s Left

Presenter: Judith Viorst
Presentation Date: September 16, 2026

We are happy to start the Fall semester with our Kenneth Leedom/Peter Cott Memorial Guest Speaker – Judith Viorst, whose latest book is Making the Best of What’s Left: When We’re Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered. With her signature wit and wisdom, she will discuss the trials and tribulations of the “final fifth” – ages 80 to 100.

Viorst is the author of over 40 books for children and adults including the beloved Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Necessary Losses. She has written humorous books of poetry for every decade starting with It’s Hard to Be Hip Over 30. She and her late husband Milton had three sons and seven grandchildren. She lives in Washington, D.C.

DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURES
Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built

Presenter: Gayle Feldman
Presentation Date: September 30, 2026

At midcentury, Bennett Cerf was a household name — a witty panelist on What’s My Line and the head of Random House, which he co-founded. He published everyone from Eugene O’Neill, Gertrude Stein and William Faulkner to Truman Capote, Ayn Rand, Philip Roth and Dr. Seuss. Gayle Feldman’s comprehensive biography, which has received rave reviews, paints a vivid portrait of 20th century New York and the golden age of publishing.

Gayle has written for Publishers Weekly for 40 years and since 1999 has been the U.S. correspondent for The Bookseller. She is also the author of a cancer memoir, You Don’t Have to Be Your Mother and Best and Worst of Times: The Changing Business of Trade Books. She spent more than 20 years researching and writing Nothing Random

DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURES
What’s it like for you to be an American?

Presenter: Robert Kalman
Presentation Date: October 14, 2026

For over 40 years Robert Kalman has been making formal, large format portraits of people he meets on streets across the globe. In addition to his large format portraiture, he has worked as a freelance editorial photographer for regional newspapers and magazines in the U.S.

After January 6th, Kalman began approaching everyday Americans across the country asking each of them the same question: “What’s it like for you to be an American?” while offering to make their portrait using a large format, eight-by-ten-inch view camera. He also invited each of them to write an answer to the question on a single notebook page. Their handwritten responses proved to be a mix of sincere, emotional expressions: pride, an acknowledged sense of privilege, anger, frustration, gratitude, deep ambivalence, even shame.

Kalman will describe how the project was created and the history of his four-year journey across the country making the portraits. He will show us two dozen selected portraits from his book along with entertaining explanations about the backstories associated with the portraits.

DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURES
Kathleen Chalfant, My Life in Theater

Presenter: Kathleen Chalfant, Interviewed by Bob Reiss
Presentation Date: November 11, 2026

Kathleen Chalfant is an actor best known for her extensive work on the live stage. Over the course of her career, her performances on Broadway and Off-Broadway have earned her numerous accolades.

In 1993, she received a Tony nomination for originating the role of Hannah Pitt in Tony Kushner’s two-part epic, Angels in America: Millenium Approaches. She earned the Outer Circle Critics, Drama Desk, Obie and Lucille Lortel awards for her performance as Vivian Bearing in Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit in 1998 and was presented with the 2018 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement.

More recently, Ms. Chalfant starred in Sarah Friedland’s feature film Familiar Touch, earning Best Actress at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. She can currently be seen on Broadway in Here There are Blueberries, a play that drew much acclaim Off-Broadway.