Michigan is one of nine institutions world-side that hosts an annual Tanner Lecture on Human Values. Tanner Lectures are funded through the generosity of the late Professor of Philosophy, industrialist, and philanthropist, Obert Clark Tanner, and his wife, Grace Tanner. Professor Tanner wrote:

I hope these lectures will contribute to the intellectual and moral life of mankind. I see them simply as a search for a better understanding of human behavior and human values. This understanding may be pursued for its own intrinsic worth, but it may also eventually have practical consequences for the quality of personal and social life.

Although the Tanners established the supporting endowment in 1978, Joel Feinberg's April, 1977 lecture at Michigan inaugurated the international series of Tanner Lectures.

The 2008-09 Tanner Lecture speaker will be Uwe Reinhardt, James Madison Professor of Political Economy, Professor of Economics, and Public Affairs, Princeton University. Professor Reinhardt is a leader in the field of health care economics. For detailed information on time and location of the talk, please click here.

Each year, Michigan has a Tanner Lecture combined with an interdisciplinary symposium to which we invite distinguished scholars from around the world. The complete list of Tanner Lecture Programs at Michigan is available here.