Isidore I. Benrubi Lecture

The 2025 Isidore I. Benrubi Lecture in the History and Ethics of Public Health

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 
4:00 p.m.
Allan Rosenfield Building, 8th Floor Auditorium

The Isidore I.Benrubi Lecture in the History and Ethics of Public Health is an annual lecture featuring a leader in the field of public health and ethics. The lecture series was established in 2007 by the family of Isidore I. Benrubi, a physician, father, and friend.

The 2025 Benrubi Lecture, "Defending Public Health, Science, and Democracy in a Time of Peril: A Conversation with Richard Besser and Jelani Cobb" will feature Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Besser will be joined in conversation by Dr. Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School.

Dr. Besser, an advocate for healthy communities and economic inclusion, emphasizes the importance of accountable public health systems and racial justice. He played a significant role in prioritizing health equity during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. By partnering with communities, practitioners, and institutions to advance health equity through funding, advocacy, and evidence-building, RWJF envisions a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

Prior Benrubi Lectures

Ending Black-White Health Disparities: The Case for Reparations

October 12, 2022 | 4:00 p.m.
Alumni Auditorium
650 West 168th Street

Speaker: Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH
Commissioner, New York State Department of Health

Hate Speech on Campus and the First Amendment: An American Dilemma

April 17, 2019 | 4:00 p.m.
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center 
104 Haven Avenue, Room 201

Speakers:

• Aryeh Neier 
  Human Rights Activist, President Emeritus of the Open Society Foundations, and Former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch
• Jeremy Waldron
  Prolific Scholar, University Professor at New York University School of Law, and previously University Professor in the School of Law at Columbia University 

Does Equality Have a Future in America?

October 4, 2017 | 4:00 p.m.
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center 
104 Haven Avenue, Room 201

Speaker: Paul Krugman, PhD
Nobel Prize Winner, Economist, Columnist for The New York Times

Keynote Lecture by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

October 27, 2016 | 4:00 p.m.
Alumni Auditorium
650 West 168th Street

Speaker: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
U.S. Senator from Rhode Island

From AIDS to Ebola: What Have We Learned?

April 8, 2015 | 4:00 p.m.
Alumni Auditorium
650 West 168th Street

Speaker: Laurie Garrett
Senior Fellow for Global Health Council on Foreign Relations

Beyond Wages and Wealth: How Inequity Harms Our Political Institutions, Our Social Fabric, and Our Well-Being

February 26, 2014 | 4:00 p.m.
Alumni Auditorium
650 West 168th Street

Speaker: Joseph Stiglitz, PhD, FBS
Nobel Laureate
University Professor at Columbia University

The Changing Picture of Childbirth in America

November 8, 2012 | 4:00 p.m.
Allan Rosenfield Building
722 West 168th St., Hess Commons

Speaker: Judith W. Leavitt, PhD
Rupple Bascom and Ruth Bleier Professor Emerita
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Environment and Risk: Thinking With & Thinking About Etiology and Incidence

November 16, 2011 | 4:00 pm 
Allan Rosenfield Building
722 West 168th St., Hess Commons

Speaker: Charles E. Rosenberg, PhD
Professor of the History of Science, Emeritus
Ernest E. Monrad Professor in the Social Sciences
Harvard University

OSHA at 40: Rethinking Worker Protection for the 21st Century

November 4, 2010 | 4:00 p.m.
Neurological Institute Auditorium
710 West 168th 

Speaker: David Michaels, PhD 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA