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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.


April 16, 2026: Reimagining International Aid

Samantha Power, Former USAID Administrator

Former USAID administrator Samantha Power gave the 2026 Bartels lecture.
Samantha Power (front), with Vice Provost Wendy Wolford, responded to a student’s question.
Global Scholar Noah Freedman ’26 asked Samantha Power a question during the 2026 Bartels lecture.

You may not be able to rebuild what has been lost—but you can be the ones who build what comes next.” ~Samantha Power

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


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 | Cornell Chronicle: 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 | 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 | Video: Forging Lasting Peace

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