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 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 in 2015, 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, and others.
The 2024 series on “Pop Politics” took a look through the lens of artists who have used their craft to take a political stance. Voicing the experience of refugees and the LGBTQ2+ community, demanding climate justice, questioning income inequality, and uplifting marginalized communities, the speakers tackled many of the defining debates of American political life and used their creative outputs as acts of connection, of resistance, and of survival.
The 2023 series on “(Un(Civil) Discourse” not only explored some of the major factors fueling the rancor and divisiveness in American politics, but crucially it asks how can citizens and leaders find common ground across a range of political issues that divide them?
The 2022 series on “The Future of Media” looked at major changes to media and reporting and explored questions such as how to restore trust, reconcile evidence-based reporting with the digital age, and reshape the media landscape in the face of these challenges to better society. The series featured both in person and livestream events with authors and journalists including Douglas Rushkoff, Soledad O’Brien, Kara Swisher, and Ed Yong.
The 2021 series on “The Anti-Democratic Turn“ examined emerging fault lines in U.S. democracy and their wide-ranging implications for democracy everywhere. Virtual events featured prominent authors and journalists including Michael Sandel, Charles Blow, Anne Applebaum, Timothy Snyder, and Danielle Allen.
The 2020 series explored the theme, “Thinking While Black,” with visits from some of the world’s leading intellectuals on the topic: Claudia Rankine, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Jesmyn Ward, and Ibram X. Kendi.
The 2019 series, “America and the Climate Crisis,” included visits from some of the foremost U.S. intellectuals on the climate crisis.
The 2018 series examined “The Unravelling of the Liberal Order,”.
The 2017 series focused on “The Trump Impact: Change, Challenges, Responses,” and the 2016 series, “The U.S. Election Campaign,” examined the influx of populism into American politics, the role of ‘dark money’ in shaping the election, and the internal realignment of the Republican party.
The Phil Lind Initiative’s inaugural series in 2015, “The Politics of Inequality,” was led by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who spoke and taught at UBC on global inequality.
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
The Phil Lind Initiative is presented by the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.
