The Bollens-Ries-Hoffenberg Lecture Series
2021
“Los Angeles at a Crossroads: A Political History of Homelessness in our City”
Councilmember Nithya Raman
2019
Hometown: Those Who Leave, Those Who Stay, and Those Who Go Back
Larissa MacFarquhar
2017
Fiction When Truth is Stranger Than Fiction: Hollywood in The Trump Era
Franklin Leonard
Too Many Governments: How Local, State and Federal Jurisdictions Can Clash or Collaborate
Sheila James Kuehl
2015
Reflections on 40 Years in L.A. Local Government and Where We Go From Here
Zev Yaroslavsky
2013
The Passions & Politics of Ed Edelman
Ed Edelman
2012
26th Annual Bollens-Ries-Hoffenberg Lecture
Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of the City of Los Angeles
2011
The State of California and its University
Dr. Charles E. Young, Chancellor Emeriti
2010
How Congress is Helping to Meet the Challenges of Our Time
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
2009
The National and State Economy, with Comments on the Budget Process
The Honorable Thomas J. “Tom” Campbell
2008
California Government: What’s Wrong & How to Fix It
Bill Boyarsky, George Skelton, and Bill Stall
Master of Ceremonies – Edmund D. Edelman
Lecture Moderator – Bill Parent
2007
Million-Dollar Murray: The Costs of Homelessness in America
Malcolm Gladwell
2005 – 20th Anniversary Lecture
How Can California Government Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century?
Former Governors Jerry Brown, Gray Davis, George Deukmejian
Moderator – Kevin Starr, Professor, History, University of Southern California, and California State Librarian Emeritus
2003
California’s Crisis: Budgeting in a Strait Jacket
Robert M. Hertzberg – Speaker Emeritus, California State Assembly, and Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw
2002
Borough, Si! Secession, No!: Or, It’s Time to Start Thinking about a Borough System for Los Angeles
Kevin Starr, Ph.D. – California State Librarian
2001
The State of Los Angeles: How Can Our City be Improved?
Genethia Hayes – President, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education
Angela Oh – Member, Los Angeles Human Relations Commission
2000
Budgets, Taxes, and Spending: The Promise and the Challenge in California
Elizabeth G. Hill – Legislative Analyst, State of California
1999
Can the Rainbow Hold Together?: Racial and Ethnic Coalitions in a Diversifying Nation
Jennifer L. Hochschild – Professor, Government, Princeton University
1998
Politics and Ethnicity
James Q. Wilson – Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, UCLA
1997
Government’s Role in the Arts: What Is It? What Should It Be?
Andrea Rich – President and CEO, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
1996
Should We Hate the Media?: The Responsibility of the Press in the Decline of Public Life
James Fallows – Washington Editor, Atlantic Monthly
1995
The Current Health of State and Local Government in California: What Prescriptions are Needed?
Edmund D. Edelman – Former Member, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
1994
Economic Security in a World of Change: Can We Have Both?
Michael Dukakis – Former Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1993
Building and Rebuilding Los Angeles: How the City’s Development Agencies Shape Regional Growth
Steven P. Erie, Ph. D. – Professor, Political Science, University of California, San Diego
1992
End of the Cold War: New Challenges for Governing
Walter F. Mondale – Vice President, United States of America
1991
New Directions for California
Carl Covitz – Secretary, Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, State of California
1990
Some Promising and Dismal California Political Participation Trends
Mervin Field – President, Field Institute, and Director, California Poll
1989
Military Spending vs. Social Spending: Can We Afford Both?
Dale Bumpers – United States Senator, State of Arkansas
1988
The Welfare State and Local Government
Dr. Theodore J. Lowi – John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions, Cornell University
1987
Plebiscitarian Democracy in California: The Initiative ProcessPlebiscitarian Democracy in California: The Initiative Process
Dr. William Hamm – Vice-President, World Savings
1986
State and Local Government: Where the Action Is
Dr. Hale Champion – Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
1985 – Inaugural Lecture
Strategic Decisions That Molded Los Angeles: Could They Be Made Today?
Dr. James Q. Wilson – Professor, Graduate School of Management and Department of Political Science, UCLA