Upper School
2022-2023—Food
Amanda Little, journalist, professor at Vanderbilt University
Omar Tate, artist, chef and founder of Honeysuckle Pop Up 

2021-2022—The Future: Fast Approaching
Kimberly Ennico-Smith, NASA scientist
Colonel Terry Virts (ret), United States Air Force fighter pilot, test pilot and NASA astronaut

2020-2021—A Look at the Democratic Political System
Tamara Keith, NPR White House correspondent and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast
Martha Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University and author of Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America

2019-2020—Personal Perspectives on Justice and Incarceration in America
Jason Flom, founding board member of the Innocence Project and host of the hit podcast, Wrongful Conviction
Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison

2018-2019
Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
Ann Curry, award-winning journalist and Executive Producer and reporter of PBS series "We'll Meet Again."

2017-2018—The Constitutional Underpinnings of American Government
Chris Coons '81, U.S. Senator
George Will, Washington Post columnist - The Political Argument Today
Mary Frances Berry, civil rights activist - The Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement: Making Social Change Necessary
Randy J. Holland, Delaware Supreme Court - State and Federal Constitutions
Sarah Barringer Gordon, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Pennsylvania
Lisa Borin Ogden, Obama Administration advisor


2016-2017—Pivotal Political, Environmental, Technological and Social Changes
Yeonmi Park, Human rights activist and North Korean defector - In Order to Live
Rebecca Linder BlachlyDirector of Government Relations for the Episcopal Church - Peace, Conflict, and Religion: A Career in Foreign Policy
Fen Montaigne, journalist, author and editor -
Travels from the Antarctic to the Arctic: Melting Ice, Global Warming, and What Can Be Done About it
Jack Gantos, children's book author - IT’S ALL PERSONAL: From picture books, to autobiographical collections of short stories, to middle grade novels, and upper school memoirs—from rotten cats, to heroic kids, to prison time, it’s all about me. They say, “Write about what you know about”—and I do.
PW Singer, author and consultant for the CIA, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to Hollywood and the Call of Duty video game series - Next War: The Future of Technology and Geopolitics
Evan Thomas, writer, correspondent and editor - Confidence, Humility, and Leadership in a Time of Change

2015-2016—
Cultural Interpretations of Reality
Betsy Cox, Director/Producer/Writer, Red Spark Films - Using Film to Effect Change
Bob Toplin, Professor of History, Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lectureship Program -History by Hollywood: The Movies’ Influence on Public Opinion
Bruce Chipman, English Department Chair, Tatnall School - Film as Cultural Reflector and Predictor in Two Iconic American Movies of the 1960s
Anand Varma, Photographer - Communicating Science through Photography
Barbara P. Barnett, Documentary Filmmaker and former Head of Modern Languages, The Agnes Irwin School
Ruth K. Hartz, Hidden Child, subject of the book Your Name is Renee, former French teacher, The Springside School
Kevin Lacz, former Navy Seal and friend of Chris Kyle of American Sniper - Behind American Sniper: Real-Life Accounts and Behind-the-Scenes Anecdotes
Joel Meyerowitz, Photographer - Photographing Ground Zero: Images and Memories

2014-2015: Finding Your Passion — Giving a Lead
Jeffrey Hobbs '98, Novelist 
Ellen J. Kullman '74, DuPont CEO, and Michael Castle '57, US Congressman - A Conversation between Kullman and Castle about their Careers and Leadership in Delaware
Paul Foldi '83, Vice President, International Development Affairs, Professional Services Council
Morgan Hendry '01, Mass Properties Engineer, Jet Propulsion Lab
Jeff Starr '94, Educational Design, Zearn
Michael Useem, Egan Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Leadership, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Curtis R. Smith, Jr. '99, Special Agent, FBI; Matthew Auerbach '97, Assistant Principal Mt. Pleasant Elementary; Amanda Bayard '99, Family Planning Program Coordinator UC-Davis Medical Center - A Conversation About a Life of Service to the Community
 
2013-2014: Sports: More than a Game 
Esera Tuaolo, Atlanta Falcons and other NFL teams - Being True to Yourself
Diane Shaw, Director of Special Collections and College Archives, Lafayette College - Is This Democracy?: Lafayette College and the Desegregation of the Sun Bowl
Carman Wallace (THS '93), Athletes First - Sports and Business
Panel moderated by Headmaster Harry Baetjer - Blue/Gold and the Advancement of Disabilities Participation in High School Sports
Patrick Chambers, Varsity Basketball Coach, Pennsylvania State University - College Sports Today
Donna de Varona, International Olympic Committee Women and Sports Commission and U.S. Dept. of State Empowerment of Girls and Women Sports Council - Gender Equality and Sports
Film and Discussion - One Day in September

2012-13: The Media and American Society
David Suisman, University of Delaware – Who Controls the Media?
Ray Didinger, Comcast Sports Network – Sports and the Media
Ralph J. Begleiter, University of Delaware and CNN and David Hoffman of the Washington Post – The Digital Revolution in Journalism
Gwen Ifill, PBS Newshour and Washington Week – The Media and Electoral Politics
Congressman Mike Castle (THS ’57) and Senator Chris Coons (THS ’81) – The Media and American Society
Student Debate – The Pros and Cons of Social Media

2011-2012: Makers of the Twenty-First Century
Raymond Callahan, University of Delaware – Winston Churchill
Erica Armstrong Dunbar, University of Delaware – Martin Luther King, Jr.
William C. Rappolt, M & T Bank – Business leaders
Student Debate – Leadership and History
Brent Glass, Dir., Natl. Museum of American History – American Makers of the 21st Century
Howard Fineman, Sr. Political Editor, Huffington Post – Recent American Political Leadership

2010-2011: The Bill of Rights Today
Joseph R. Biden III, Attorney General of Delaware – Privacy in Schools
Orin S. Kerr (THS ’89), George Washington Law School – The Fourth Amendment
Kristine A. Huskey, National Security Clinic, University of Texas – Justice at Guantanamo
Student Debate – Gun Control
Bryan A. Stevenson, Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative – Capital Punishment
Martha Minow, Dean of the Harvard Law School – Education and the Constitution

2009-2010: Morality vs. the Public Interest
Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware – The Budget Crunch
Virginia A. Seitz (THS ’74), Sidley Austin LLP – Freedom of Speech
John Pierce, Vice President, DuPont Co. - Food, Fuels and Materials
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, U.S. Commissioner of Food and Drugs – Govt. Regulation
Michael Scheuer, CIA and Matthew Alexander, USAF – Torture as a Method of Interrogation
Lance L. Weaver, University of Delaware – Business Ethics
Hugh Bender (THS ’03), Washington University – Stem Cell Research
John Osborn, U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy – Public Diplomacy
Gary May, U. of Delaware – Informants and the Legal System
Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann (THS ’93), CAST, Inc. – Psychological Research
Zachary Karabell, River Twice Research – Ethics vs. Profit in Business

2008-2009: America in the 60s
Arturo Bagley, Tower Hill School Faculty - Setting the Scene
John Lewis, U.S. Congressman - Civil Rights
Paul Lyons, Richard Stockton College -The Impact of the Vietnam War
John Scott, University of Delaware - Transformation of American Culture
John Robinson, Timothy B. Golding Chair in English, Tower Hill - Romance and Anarchy
Senator Harris Wofford, Former U.S. Senator; Aide to Kennedy - Founding the Peace Corps
“1968: The Siege of Wilmington” - WHYY Documentary
Andrew Krepinevich, President of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments - Developments in Military and Space Technology in the 1960s
Panel of Tower Hill Alumni from the 60s - Tower Hill in the 60s
Robert Dallek, U.S. Historian - The Life and Career of John F. Kennedy
Linda Gordon, U.S. Historian - The Woman’s Movement

2007-2008: Leadership: Yesterday and Today
Samuel S. Beard, Founder of the Jefferson Awards - Economic Development
Martin Luther King III, Civil Rights Leader - Civil Rights
“The Sisters,” Founders of the Wilmington Arts Coalition - Arts
Ellen Kullman (THS ‘74), CEO, DuPont Company - Values Based Leadership
David Roselle, Former President of University of Delaware - Education
Charlie Copeland (THS ‘81), State Senate Minority Leader - Government
Michael Beschloss, Presidential Historian and TV commentator - Presidential Leadership

2006-2007: Achieving Peace in the Middle East
Laurie Mylroie, Information for Democracy - The Middle East
Afif Safieh, Ambassador of the Palestinian Authority to the US - The Palestinian View
H.R.H. Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the U.S. - Achieving Peace
Cathy Matson, University of Delaware - Democracy and the Early American Republic
David Long, U.S. State Department - The Arab World
William D. Quandt, University of Virginia - Arab-Israeli Conflict
Bernard Reich, George Washington University - Arab-Israeli Conflict
Dr. Ward Casscells (THS ‘70), Asst. Sec. of Defense for Health Affairs - The Situation in Iraq
Avraham Burg, Speaker of the Israeli Knesset - Struggling Towards Peace

2005-2006: Restructuring Diversity: Access to Opportunity
Harold Eugene Batiste III, Ntl. Asn. of Independent Schools - Diversity and Opportunity
Irene Monroe, Harvard University - Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia
Niger Innis, CORE, and Cory Booker, Civic Activist - Affirmative Action
Debran Rowland, Legal Journalist - Women’s Rights in America
Raymond Wolters, University of Delaware - Right Turn at the Crossroads: William Bradford Reynolds (THS ‘60) and the Civil Rights Policies of the Reagan Administration
Rafael Bejarano, Musician - Indigenous Peoples and the Developed World

2004-2005: American Empire
Linda Colley, Princeton University - Early American Empire
Hall Gardner (THS ‘72), American University of Paris - The Present Global Crisis
Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor - The American Empire
Jessica Stern, J. F. Kennedy School of Govt., Harvard Univ. - The Terrorists’ Perspective
Niall Ferguson, Harvard University - The American Empire

2003-2004: Making Government Work
Mark Green, New York Mayoral Candidate, and Alan Keyes, Presidential Candidate - Cam paign Finance Reform
Bert Ammerman, Educator and Activist - Citizen Activism
Erskine Bowles, White House Chief of Staff - The Executive Branch
Chris Coons (THS ‘81), President, New Castle County Council - Local Government
Edward Black, Lobbyist, Washington, DC - Lobbyists
Professor Jonathan Russ, University of Delaware - The G.I. Bill

2002-2003: American Foreign Policy Since World War II
David Gergen, Presidential Advisor - Post War Foreign Policy
Scott Ritter, UN Weapons Inspector - Understanding Roots of Terrorism
Donald L. Miller, Lafayette College - WWII and American Memory
Joseph Biden, U.S. Senator - Current American Foreign Policy
Rory Kennedy, Filmmaker - Global AIDS Project

2001-2002 : Making History Come Alive
Elie Wiesel, Author - Remembering the 20th Century
InterAct Theatre Company - “Nixon’s Nixon”
Bette Bao Lord, Novelist - Writing Historical Fiction
Simon Schama, Columbia University – TV Documentary Making
Owen Boyer, Recreationist – First Person History – 1778
Pierre S. du Pont IV (THS ‘52), Governor - Political Memories
Gary May, University of Delaware - History on Film

2000-2001: The American Century
Alan Brinkley, Columbia University - Henry Luce and the American Century
Todd Brewster, ABC News - The Century
Anne M. Boylan, Univ. of Delaware - Women in the American Century
Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut - American Achievements in Space/Technology
Joseph Biden, Senator - American Foreign Policy
Sonia Sanchez, Poet - American Literature
John Lewis, Congressman - The Civil Rights Struggle
Norman Cantor, New York University - Culture and the Arts

1999-2000: The Use and Abuse of History
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. - The Multiculturalism Debate
DeeDee Myers and Marlin Fitzwater, Press Secretaries to Clinton and Reagan/Bush -
Political Spin
Mary Lefkowitz, Wellesley College - The Afrocentrism Debate
John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University - Presidents and History
Robert Brent Toplin, University of North Carolina - Movies and History
Annette Gordon-Reed, New York Law School - Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson
Christina Hoff Sommers, American Enterprise Institute and Bonnie G. Smith, Rutgers
University - Debate over Feminist History
Arthur Waldron, U. of Pennsylvania - Communist Versions of History

1998-1999: What is Distinctive About American Society?
George F. Will - Political Philosophy
Stephen Ambrose - The Frontier and the Military
Doris Kearns Goodwin - The Presidency
Danny Glover and Felix Justice - An Evening with Langston and Martin
David Em - The Computer and the Arts
Michael Castle (THS ‘57), Congressman - Government
Arthur J. Rothkopf, President, Lafayette College - Education
Charles Cawley, Chairman, MBNA - Business
Yvonne Williams (THS ‘74), U. of Pennsylvania - Diversity