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 previous Harriet Webb Kenderdine Lecture speakers
2025 SPEAKER: BARBARA McQUADE
LECTURE TOPIC: Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America
On October 17, University College and the League of Women Voters of Lancaster County sponsored a lecture given by Barbara McQuade, University of Michigan law professor and former federal prosecutor. McQuade discussed the tactics of disinformation, how technology is exacerbating the problem, and how it is affecting American society. She also offered potential solutions to help us mitigate the challenges of disinformation in an evolving world.
About BARBARA McQUADE
Barbara McQuade is a professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School, her alma mater, where she teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, and data privacy. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and a co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw. From 2010 to 2017, McQuade served as U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ms. McQuade was appointed by President Barack Obama, and was the first woman to serve in her position. Earlier in her career, she worked as a sports writer and copy editor, a judicial law clerk, an associate in private practice, and an assistant U.S. attorney.
For more information, please visit www.barbaramcquade.com
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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 governor of Vermont, 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 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 at George Washington University, presented “Why Women Run from Office, and How that Can Change.”
- 2024 - Dr. Sarah Sobieraj, professor of sociology at Tufts University, presented on her recent publication, Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy (Oxford Studies in Digital Politics).
- 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 to campus.
- 2025 - Barbara McQuade, University of Michigan law professor and former federal prosecutor, discussed her recent publication, Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.
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Join the Mailing List
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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.