The Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics provides lectures and panel discussions with scholars, practitioners and public officials for Wheaton College students and the surrounding community on issues related to market economies, representative democracies and limited government.
2025-2026 Lecture Schedule (subject to change)
Fall Semester
"The Religious Roots of Communication Revolutions"
Robert D. Woodberry, Ph.D.
October 15, 7:00-8:00pm, Blanchard Hall 339
How does religion shape the origins and consequences of technology? Printing and movable-type fonts were invented in Mesopotamia and East Asia long before they appeared in Europe. But the Protestant desire for everyone to read the Bible in their own language transformed their uses and unleashed a vernacular revolution. We cannot understand modernity without it.
Robert D. Woodberry is director of the Project on Religion and Economic Change and associate research professor at Baylor University. Most of his research analyzes the long-term social impact of missions and religious change in societies around the world. His research appears in the American Sociological Review, Annual Review of Sociology, Social Forces, American Political Science Review, and elsewhere, and has earned 15 outstanding research awards from academic associations including the Luebbert Award for the Best Article in Comparative Politics from the American Political Science Association and Best Article in Comparative and Transnational Sociology from the American Sociological Association. His research has also elicited extensive popular media coverage – including in a feature-length documentary, in two episodes in a TV series, and in articles in Christianity Today and the Economist.
2024-2025 Lectures
"Why Taiwan is Important to the United States"
Ben Han Memorial Lecture, delivered by Thomas J. Christensen, Ph.D.
September 5, 7:00-8:00pm, Bakke Auditorium, Wade Center
This talk will address why a secure, democratic, and prosperous Taiwan is in America's long-term national interest. In light of the challenges that Taiwan currently faces, especially the growing military threat from the People's Republic of China, the talk will discuss what the United States should do and should not do to support Taiwan in meeting those challenges.
Thomas J. Christensen is the James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations and Director of the China and the World Program at Columbia University. Professor Christensen is also a Senior Advisor to the China Coordination Office at the U.S. Department of State. All opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Government.
"What Is Money?"
Robert Parham, Ph.D.
November 18, 7:00-8:00pm, Blanchard Hall 339
Dr. Robert Parham, Assistant Professor of Commerce, McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, explores the story of money, from the Great Sumerian Empire to Bitcoin. What it is, how to get it, and what it has to do with depression, equity, and morality.
"Bursting from the Bubble: Lessons in Career Navigation"
Mike Bleadorn, Ph.D.
March 17, 6:30-7:30pm, Phelps Room, Lower Beamer
Mike Bleadorn, Ph.D., is an alumnus of Wheaton College and a recently retired Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry with 35 years of experience providing consulting services to a wide variety of industries including energy, manufacturing, consumer goods, retail, media, pharma, health care, technology, and private equity firms. Dr. Bleadorn will be speaking on the topic of how Wheaton College graduates can navigate in a pluralistic society and build a successful career.
2023-2024 Lectures
"Immigrant Nation: What Happened?"
Panel Discussion
April 11, 7:00-8:00pm, Bakke Auditorium, Wade Center
A discussion between experts from theology, politics, law enforcement, and the media, on the current immigration situation, examining what makes this current problem so different and pressing than previous immigration crises. Panel guests include nationally syndicated columnist, Ruben Navarrette, Former US Attorney for Arizona, Paul Charlton, and Scripture Press Ministries Professor of Biblical Studies and Pedagogy at Wheaton College, Dr. Daniel Carroll R.
"Leadership Through Liberal Arts: Why Divergent Thinkers Are Needed in a Convergent World."
Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau (ret.), President, Naval Postgraduate School.
November 16, 7:00-8:00pm, Bakke Auditorium, Wade Center
Divergent thinking empowers creative problem solving and is a crucial counterpart to analytic decision making. Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, President of the Naval Postgraduate School, elaborates on the powerful role a liberal arts education plays in developing idea generating skills that equip us to navigate effectively and lead thoughtfully in an increasingly complex world.
"How Christianity Can Be a Healing Force in American Society"
Peter Wehner
September 11, 7:00-8:00pm, Amerding Concert Hall
Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and the George W. Bush White House. He is a contributing editor at The Atlantic Monthly and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.
2019-2020 Lectures
"The Role of Faith in the Public Square"
Bill Haslam, Governor of Tennessee, 2011-2019, will share how his faith has impacted both his business and political practices.
"C.S. Lewis and Freedom: Christianity's Famous Apologist meets Adam Smith" - Cancelled
Ken Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Chair in Economics, University of Virginia
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