Each year, the Department of Women's and Gender Studies presents the Adrenée Glover Freeman and Dr. Mary Baskin-Waters lectures.
Recent Lecture Spotlights:
Dr. Shannon C. Eaves, Associate Professor of African American History at the College of Charleston joined the Department of Women's and Gender Studies for the 2025 Adrenée Glover Freeman Lecture on October 7, 2025.
Dr. Elizabeth Dale, Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University, presented the 2025 Dr. Mary Baskin-Waters Lecture on March 25, 2025.
Adrenée Glover Freeman Lecture
The Adrenée Glover Freeman Lecture in African American Women’s Studies was established in 1993 in memory of Adrenée Glover Freeman, a Columbia attorney who was active in civic affairs and served on the Community Advisory Board of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department. Each year the lecture is given by a prominent African American woman.
2024 Shaneen Dials-Corujo [pdf]
2023 Daphne A. Brooks
2022 Aisha Durham [pdf]
2020 Sandra Rattley (view the lecture)
2019 Valerie Smith [pdf]
2018 Ijeoma Oluo (view a clip)
2017 Courtney Bryan [pdf]
2016 Anita F. Hill [pdf]
2014 Cathy J. Cohen
2013 Nikky Finney
2012 Cynthia Hardy
2011 Anita F. Hill
2010 Yvonne Latty
2009 Tameika Isaac Devine
2008 Adia Harvey Wingfield and Dianne “Dinah” Johnson
2007 Cheryl Townsend Gilkes
2006 Portia Cobb
2005 Beverly Guy-Sheftall
2004 Barbara Ransby
2003 Leith Mullings
2002 Curtis Frye and championship team
2001 Carole Marks
2000 Faith Ringgold
1999 Thyvolia Glymph
1998 Adrienne Davis
1997 Sharon Harley
1996 Bonnie Thorton Dill
1995 Patricia Hill Collins
1994 Thadious Davis
1993 Freeman Lecture Established
Dr. Mary Baskin Waters Lecture
This annual lecture series, established in 2015, is named in honor of benefactor, longtime community partner, and service learning advocate Dr. Mary Baskin Waters. Dr. Waters earned her B.A. in Art Studio from the University of South Carolina, as well as her master’s and Ph.D. She is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and in the Department of Political Science.
During this series, we take a closer look at various women's and gender issues such as women in sports and human rights in the face of extremism. This lecture is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.
2025 Elizabeth Dale [pdf]
2024 Vanessa Northington Gamble [pdf]
2022 Ruha Benjamin [pdf]
2016 Kirby Dick [pdf]