The Annual Hopper Lecture is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in honour of its founding president, David Hopper, who served in that role from 1970-1978. Each year, an eminent international thinker provides a free public lecture about critical current and future issues in international development at the University of Guelph and a second Canadian university.
The Hopper Lecture represents a unique long-term collaboration between IDRC and the University of Guelph – the only collaboration of its kind in IDRC's history. It also celebrates the many significant connections between the two institutions. In 1957 after the completion of his PhD, David Hopper obtained his first academic appointment as Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Guelph, prior to subsequent positions with the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, IDRC and the World Bank.
At the time of the creation of the Hopper Lecture endowment in 1993, three former governors of IDRC had been faculty members at the University of Guelph: Lila Engberg (long-time faculty member in family relations), Janet Wardlaw (first female Associate Vice-President Academic) and Bill Winegard (president of the University of Guelph from 1967-1975). More recently, Dominique Charron, who served as IDRC's Vice-President of Programs and Partnerships from 2019-2023, obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (1990) and PhD in Epidemiology (2001) from the University of Guelph. Mary Anne Chambers, the University of Guelph’s current Chancellor, was a member of IDRC's Board of Governors from 2017-2022.
The University of Guelph and IDRC are proud to support the Hopper Lecture, which provides an important opportunity to share cutting edge research about international development and engage with the Canadian public about global issues.
Guest speaker Leanne Betasamosake Simpson gives a lecture on using Michi Saagiig Nishnaabe consciousness to dismantle the present moment and challenge systems of colonialism through work that is deeply connected with the land.
Previous Lectures
2022 – Dr. Naila Kabeer – The Broader Story of Progress: Building Collective Actions on the Margin, Gender Perspectives from South Asia