The WKU Presidential Speaker Series brings to campus influential voices from diverse fields of study including science, arts, technology and public policy. The series complements students’ classroom experiences. As part of WKU's responsibility to provide a comprehensive experience that extends beyond the classroom, the Presidential Speaker Series covers a wide range of topics spanning multiple disciplines. 

The Presidential Speaker Series provides learning and engagement opportunities for Bowling Green, Warren County and beyond.

As a culture, we revere intellect and memory, and we tend to vilify forgetting. We cast Forgetting as the bad guy in the epic battle against everyone’s favorite hero, Remembering. But our memory system isn’t a war between good and evil. Most of what we forget every day is actually 100% normal. Our brains aren’t designed to remember people’s names, to do something later, or to catalog everything we encounter. These imperfections are simply the factory settings. But we tend to lay a lot of fear, shame, and stress on ourselves every time we forget to take out the trash, where we put our phones, or the name of a movie a friend recommended, and we're unfairly punishing ourselves here.  

Where did I put my phone, my keys, my glasses, park my car?

Oh, what's his name?

Read More

Dr. Genova's presentation is FREE and open to WKU students, faculty, staff and the public; no ticket needed. Doors will open at Van Meter Auditorium at 6:15 p.m. Seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached.

Food and drink are not permitted in the auditorium, and recording or photography of any kind is prohibited during the presentation.

At the conclusion of the 50-minute presentation, there will be an opportunity for questions. If you have a question at that time, please remain seated, raise your hand, and wait for a moderator to assist with a microphone.

General parking is available in Cherry Lot, Hub Lot and the Alumni Square Garage. 

Disability parking is available in Old Fort Lot and Potter Lot.

Parking Map

As a culture, we revere intellect and memory, and we tend to vilify forgetting. We cast Forgetting as the bad guy in the epic battle against everyone’s favorite hero, Remembering. But our memory system isn’t a war between good and evil. Most of what we forget every day is actually 100% normal. Our brains aren’t designed to remember people’s names, to do something later, or to catalog everything we encounter. These imperfections are simply the factory settings. But we tend to lay a lot of fear, shame, and stress on ourselves every time we forget to take out the trash, where we put our phones, or the name of a movie a friend recommended, and we're unfairly punishing ourselves here.

 Where did I put my phone, my keys, my glasses, park my car?

Oh, what's his name?

Why did I come in this room?

How could I forget about my 4:00pm Zoom meeting?

These are all super common and TOTALLY NORMAL kinds of forgetting. Dr. Lisa Genova aims to humanize forgetting, to help people understand why these memory failures happen so they can relax, stop shaming themselves, and have a better relationship with their memory. In this talk focused on her newest book and New York Times bestseller, REMEMBER: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting - Lisa explores the intricacies of how we remember, why we forget, and what we can do to protect our memories. Sharing strategies and tips for improving and protecting memory, she helps organizations and their employees become more efficient and productive as they gain insight into how memory works. She discusses all aspects of the mind - highlighting the correlation between stress, productivity, and performance as we aim to navigate a post-COVID world and succeed in new hybrid work environments. In this presentation she helps to answer the question: How can we improve the productivity and performance of our minds and our people?