About The Phil Lind Initiative
The Phil Lind Initiative is an annual dialogue series and course presented by the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs in the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and is made possible by a generous gift from the late Philip B. Lind (BA’66, LLD’02). The initiative’s mandate is to invite prominent US scholars, writers, and intellectuals to UBC to share ideas with students, faculty, and the wider community on some of the most urgent issues of our time.
The inaugural series, led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, focused on “The Politics of Inequality.” Since then, the Phil Lind Initiative has drawn over 12,000 in-person attendees and engaged UBC and the broader community in critical dialogues on topics such as the climate crisis, polarization and corruption in American politics, inequality and racial violence, and the impact of the digital age on the media landscape. Past speakers have included high-profile figures like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Bill McKibben, Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad, Masha Gessen, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Winona LaDuke, Ibram X. Kendi and others.
Series Themes and Speakers by Year
2025 What It Means to Be “American”
Smriti Keshari & Eric Schlosser, Adam Kinzinger, Ziwe, Raven Chacon, Heather Cox Richardson
2024 Pop Politics
Jia Tolentino, Suleika Jaouad & Jon Batiste, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Sasha Velour
2023 Un(Civil) Discourse
Masha Gessen, John McWhorter, Safiya Noble, Linda Greenhouse, Jonathan Haidt
2022 The Future of Media
Douglas Rushkoff, Soledad O’Brien, Kara Swisher, Ed Yong
2021 The Anti-Democratic Turn
Michael Sandel, Charles Blow, Anne Applebaum, Timothy Snyder, Danielle Allen
2020 Thinking While Black
Claudia Rankine, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Ibram X. Kendi, Jesmyn Ward
2019 America and the Climate Crisis
Robert Bullard, Elizabeth Kolbert, John Kasich, Winona LaDuke, Bill McKibben
2018 The Unravelling of the Liberal Order
Edward Luce, Francis Fukuyama, Steven Pinker, Misha Glenny, Susan Rice, Anne-Marie Slaughter
2017 The Trump Impact: Change, Challenges, Responses
Robert Reich
2016 The U.S. Election Campaign
David Frum and Peter Beinart, Jane Mayer, E. J. Dionne, Hans Noel, Byron Shafer
2015 The Politics of Inequality
Jeffrey Sachs, Jill Abramson, Teju Cole, Elizabeth May, Joseph Stiglitz
About Philip B. Lind
The late Philip B. Lind, CM (BA ’66, LLD ’02), was a brilliant business leader and a passionate supporter of arts, media and education devoted to advancing our nation’s rich and varied culture. From revolutionizing the broadcasting landscape in Canada to transforming the potential of telecommunications, his work greatly contributed to the social, cultural, and economic well-being of Canada.
Lind was a long-time supporter and advocate of UBC. At the centre of Lind’s philanthropy was his steadfast belief that deeper understanding and connection can create a more inclusive world. He generously invested in many areas of scholarship at the university, including the Phil Lind Chair in U.S. Politics and Representation, the U.S. Studies Program, the Rogers Multicultural Film Production Project, the Belkin Curator’s Forum, and the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection. Lind provided invaluable strategic advice as co-chair of UBC’s successful start an evolution campaign, which concluded in 2015 and FORWARD, the campaign for UBC, launched in 2022.
Advisory Board
Allison Macfarlane (Chair), Director, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA)
Robyn Leuty, Assistant Director, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA)
Jed Lind, Principal, Jed Lind Interiors
Andrea Benzel, Executive Director, UBC Development
Rebecca Alegría Monnerat, Project Manager, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA)
Gregor Sharp, Academic Director, The Phil Lind Initiative, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA)
Paul Quirk, Professor, Department of Political Science
Max Cameron, Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and the Department of Political Science
Kathryn Gretsinger, Senior Instructor, School of Journalism, Writing, & Media
Heidi Tworek, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and History
Carol Liao, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Business Law at UBC Allard School of Law
Hugh Gusterson, Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and Anthropology
T. Patrick Carrabré, Director, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts & Professor, School of Music
