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Einaudi Center for International Studies

Cornell University

Bartels World Affairs Lecture

The Einaudi Center’s flagship event brings distinguished international figures to campus each year to speak on global topics and meet with Cornell faculty and students, particularly undergraduates. The Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellowship supports the speaker’s visit.

Save the date!

Samantha Power outdoor shot

April 16, 2026: Samantha Power

USAID Administrator, 2021–25

Samantha Power served in the Biden-Harris administration as the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the world’s premier international development agency. She was the 28th U.S. Permanent Representative (ambassador) to the United Nations during the Obama-Biden administration.

“One of our foremost thinkers on foreign policy.” ~ Barack Obama

Power will speak on the Einaudi Center's 2025–26 theme: Is (Cutting) International Aid Good?

Learn more about Research at Einaudi.

Past Bartels World Affairs Fellows

Fall 2024: Naomi Klein, Author and Activist

Naomi Klein Bartels lecture, Oct. 23, 2024
Naomi Klein speaking at Einaudi's 2024 Bartels lecture: “Politics hates a vacuum. And if you don’t fill that vacuum with credible hope … someone else is going to fill it with hate.” Photo: Simon Wheeler

Klein: Conspiracy Influencers Filling Political Vacuum | Global Experts Look Abroad in Super Election Year

Fall 2023: N. K. Jemisin, Hugo Award–Winning Novelist

Cornell Chronicle: “Build the World from Scratch”, Fantasy Author to Speak | Sun: Building Fictional Worlds | Bartels Explainer by Anindita Banerjee

Spring 2023: Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Former President of Costa Rica

Cornell Chronicle: "Love Can Change the World", Former Costa Rican President to Speak | Sun: “Power of Leading by Example” | Bartels Explainer by Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez | YouTube Video: Fighting for Democracy and the Planet 

2022: Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

Cornell Chronicle: Nobel Laureate Offers Wisdom, Gbowee to Speak on May 3 | Bartels Explainer by Naminata Diabate | YouTube Video: Forging Lasting Peace

2021: Amartya Sen, 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics

Cornell Chronicle: Bartels Lecturer Speaks Out on Rising Threats to Democracy, Nobel Laureate Sen to Lecture on Protecting Democracy

See previous Bartels World Affairs Fellows in Cornell Library’s eCommons archive.