Keynote Speech, "Cultural Philanthropy: Can we measure Its impact? Should we have to?," Dunbarton Oaks Conference, Washington, D.C., 2 June 2022.
"Where Do We Go in a Post-Truth Age?" 1 May 2022.
"W. McNeil Lowry, the Arts and American Society," 23 July 2019.
"Size and Mission Matter," Universities at Risk Conference, 20-21 April 2018.
"Tax Deductibility and the Public Good," Ford Foundation meeting, 16 March 2017.
"Can We Save the World Through Generosity? Philanthropy Scholarship in the Age of the Megafoundation," ISTR Prize Lecture, Stockholm, 1 July 2016.
Should We Kill the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg? Do We Need a Functional Definition of Charity in the United States? NYU Conference on Elasticity of the Boundaries, Session: What Is (and Isn't) Charitable? 29 October 2015.
Princeton Alumni Interview, Oral History Project, Princetoniania Committee, 14 January 2013.
"John Dewey and the Idea of General Education in the 21st Century," 17 July 2009.
Keynote Address, Inauguration of Miami University Humanities Center, Oxford, Ohio, 16 April 2009.
The History Major and Undergraduate Liberal Education: Report of the National History Center Working Group to the Teagle Foundation. Stanley N. Katz and James Grossman, co-chairs (with the assistance of Tracy Steffes), 29 September 2008.
Why There's No "Free Lunch" on the Internet: Two stories from academe: Take Two. Speech to the annual meeting of the Association of American University Presses, Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal, 28 June 2008.
"Assessment and General Education: Resisting Reductionism without Resisting Responsibility," Plenary Address, AAC&U Conference on Integrative Designs for General Education and Assessment, Boston, MA, 23 February 2008.
Graduate Education and the Real World: Doing Good by Doing Well. Convocation Address to the graduate degree recipients of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 15 May 2008.
"Who's Afraid of Senator Byrd? The Constitution and the Uses of American History," Constitution Day Lecture, WWS, 17 September 2007.
"Autobiographical Ramblings" Teacher, Scholar, Citizen Conference, WWS, 24 February 2007.
"The Public Image and the Private Reality of Faculty 'what do you care what other people think?'," Luncheon speech to annual meeting of AAUP, Washington, DC, 9 June 2006.
"Policy Issues: Philanthropy," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, Victor Ginsburgh and David Throsby, eds., forthcoming, 2006.
"Copyright Is Not a Slam Dunk," After-dinner talk to Board of Copyright Clearance Center, Danvers, Massachusetts, 16 November 2005.
"Yom Kippur Lay Sermon" at the Conservative Services, Center for Jewish Life, Princeton University, 25 September 2004.
"Gun Barrel Democracy? Democratic Constitutionalism Following Military Occupation: Reflections on the US Experience in Japan, Germany, Afghanistan and Iraq," 14 May 2004, Princeton Law and Public Affairs Working Paper No. 04-010 (see also http://ssrn.com/abstract=559166)
"Why Technology Matters: the Humanitites in the 21st Century," A Wisbey Lecture, King's College, University of London, 16 October 2003.
Whither Area Studies? Talk at Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph's Festschrift Conference, 10 April 2003.
"Commencement Address at Roosevelt University," Chicago, Illinois, 11 January 2003.
"What Do We Want from the Cybermuseum?" Keynote address, Museum Computer Network, Toronto, 5 September 2002.
"Whatever Happened to the General Purpose Foundation? Who is Thinking About the Big Problems?" Waldemar A. Nielsen Issues in Philanthropy Seminar Series, Center for the Study of Voluntary Organizations and Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 19 October 2001.
"What would it mean to be a just university?" After dinner address for the conference on "Higher Education In and For a Just Society," 125th anniversary of Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 3 October 2001.
"Don't Confuse a Tool with a Goal: Making Information Technology Serve Higher Education, Rather Than the Other Way Around," Forum on the Future of Higher Education, Aspen Symposium, Aspen, Colorado, 26 September 2000.
"Constitutionalism and Civil Society," The Jefferson Lecture, University of California at Berkeley, 25 April 2000.
"Public Access to the National Heritage: Who Pays the Piper?" Policy brief for the Arts, Culture and the National Agenda project, Center for Arts and Culture, 2000.
"A Computer is not a Typewriter, or, Getting Right with Information Technology in the Humanities," Digital Directions Lecture Series, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 5 February 1999.
With Benjamin Gidron, "The International Study of Peace/Conflict Resolution Organizations: Preliminary Findings," International Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, 9 July 1998.
"Public and Private Issues: The Role of Research," Keynote address for the inaugural conference, Israeli Center for Third-sector Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, 15 March 1998.
"Can Liberal Education Cope?," Keynote address for the Annual Meeting, Association of Graduate Programs in Liberal Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 30 October 1997.
"Accountability in the Arts and Sciences: Images and Reality," Annual Meeting, Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 14 November 1996.