The Harriet Kenderdine Lecture
About Harriet Webb Kenderdine
An active member of the League of Women Voters at the national, state and Lancaster County levels, Harriet Webb Kenderdine (1899-1982) was deeply interested in international affairs. Upon her death in 1982, she left a bequest to the League of Women Voters of Lancaster County for public lectures to empower voters and protect democracy. Millersville University has been proud to host these lectures over the past 4 decades.
History of the Harriet Kenderdine Lectures
Enjoy a brief overview of the history of all the previous Harriet Webb Kenderdine Lecture Speakers
Thank You to Our 2024 Speaker Dr. Sarah Sobieraj
Lecture Topic: The Body Politic: Women, Digital Harassment, and Democratic Life
The 2024 Kenderdine Lecture featured Sarah Sobieraj, PhD, on October 8th, 2024 at the Winter Visual & Performing Arts Center at Millersville University.
Millersville University would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Dr. Sobieraj, along with all the individuals who contributed to the success of the 2024 Kenderdine Lecture. Your valuable participation and support were instrumental in making this event both insightful and impactful. We are grateful for the knowledge shared and the engagement demonstrated by everyone involved, and we look forward to continuing the tradition of excellence in future lectures.
About Sarah Sobieraj, PhD
Professor, Department of Sociology, Tufts University
Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University
Sarah Sobieraj is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology. Her research focuses on US political culture, extreme incivility, digital abuse and harassment, and the mediated information environment. Her book, Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2020), examines the impact of identity-based digital abuse on women’s participation in social and political discourse.
For more information on Dr. Sobieraj's work, please see her book: Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy (Oxford Studies in Digital Politics)
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Sponsors
- The Harriet Kenderdine Lecture Series
- The League of Women Voters of Lancaster County
- The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program
- Center for Civic Responsibility & Leadership
- Center for Public Scholarship & Social Change
- President’s Commission on the Status of Women
- American Association of University Women Club
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History
Harriet Webb Kenderdine (1899-1982) was an active member of the League of Women Voters at the national, state and Lancaster County levels and who had a deep interest in international affairs. When Mrs. Kenderdine died in September 1982, she left a bequest to the League of Women Voters of Lancaster County. She set aside funds for lectures that the public could attend on behalf of the LWV, underwriting the costs as long as the speaker was representative of their ideals, which include empowering voters and protecting democracy. Over the years the lecture series hosted many wonderful speakers:
- 1985 - Paul Warnke, presenter of the first Kenderdine Lecture.
- 1986 - Robert E. White, former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador and expert on Central America presented "Current Affairs in Latin and South America."
- 1990 - Cokie & Steven Roberts, NPR’s Congressional Correspondent presented “U.S. Politics in the 1990s: Challenges Facing the Nation and the World.”
- 1992 - Joan Mondale, author, (married to former US Vice President & Senator, Walter Mondale) presented “Women as a Political Force” and Madeleine Kunin, former VT governor presented “Do Women Leaders Make a Difference?”
- 1993 - Nina Totenberg, NPR’s American Legal Affairs Correspondent presented “Covering the Supreme Court.”
- 2001 - Dr. Christopher Edley Jr., Professor of Law at Harvard University and the co-director of The Civil Rights Project, presented "Not All Black and White: Affirmative Action and American Values."
- 2008 - Ishmael Beah, author, presented "A Long Way Gone: Story of Redemption and Hope."
- 2015 - Abigail Hurst, PA Coalition against Domestic Violence, presented "It's On Us: Dating Violence Realities and Responses" in conjunction with the YWCA.
- 2016 - Danny Hayes, Professor of Political Science, The George Washington University presented “Why Women Run from Office, and How that Can Change.”
- 2024 - Stacie Blake, CEO of YWCA Lancaster. Spoke on voting access in Lancaster and Pennsylvania as the reception guest speaker to celebrate the return of the lecture series.
- 2024 - Dr. Sarah Sobieraj, Professor of Sociology at Tufts University. Presented on recent publication “Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy (Oxford Studies in Digital Politics).”
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The League of Women Voters of Lancaster County
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization encouraging informed and active participation in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. We never support or oppose any political party or candidate.
The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.
- Voters Service/Citizen Education: we present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.
- Action/Advocacy: we are also nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.