Throughout the academic year, Emmanuel offers the College community various opportunities to engage in thoughtful discussion about current issues and topics related to Emmanuel's mission.

Dorothy Day Lecture Series

The annual Dorothy Day Lecture Series was launched in 2013 by the Emmanuel College Class of 1971 to honor liberal arts as the foundation and inspiration for meaningful social action. The goal of the lecture series is to encourage ongoing engagement with issues of social justice among students, alumni and the general public. The Dorothy Day Lecture Series features speakers who are role models for contributing to positive social change. The series is named for Dorothy Day, a courageous 20th-century woman of faith who dedicated her life to the struggle for economic and social justice.

In April 2023, Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of the award-winning independent news program Democracy Now! delivered the annual Class of 1971 Dorothy Day Lecture in the Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall, marking 10 years of the popular lecture series.

Wyant Lecture Series

The Wyant Lecture Series features speakers in the humanities, history and the arts. This endowed professorship was established by the late Louise Doherty Wyant '63 and her husband, Dr. James Wyant, in honor of Sister Anne Cyril Delaney, SND. Sister Anne Cyril was a professor of English at Emmanuel for 26 years. Through her teaching and her intellectual breadth, Sister Anne Cyril exemplified the values and relevance of the humanities and had a profound influence on generations of students.
 

Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Lecture

This annual lecture series was established by Dr. Raymond Hakim in honor of his late wife, Catherine McLaughlin Hakim '70. A sociology major at Emmanuel, Catherine studied under longtime sociology professor Sister Marie Augusta Neal, SND, who left an especially indelible mark on her student experience. 

The lecture series commemorates Catherine's life, her fondness for Emmanuel, and the relationships she formed at the College and continued to maintain throughout her life. The Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of Sociology. Lectures focus on issues of sociology, social justice and public policy on the local, national and international levels.