The Wagner College community is invited to the 2023 Kaufman-Repage lecture with future-of-work strategist Heather E. McGowan on October 25 at 7 p.m. in Spiro Hall 2, titled "Do Not Fear ChatGPT: The Future of Work."
The Kaufman-Repage Lecture, a celebration of Wagner College’s commitment to scholarly work and open inquiry, is sponsored by former Wagner College trustee Dr. Louise S. Kaufman ’75 M’78 H’12 and her husband, Dr. Peter Kaufman.
Author of The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, McGowan is one of the leading voices on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, transforming mindsets and entire organizations around the globe with her message about how the next phase of work will focus on continuous learning. Her groundbreaking approach to the future of work and learning has made employees more fulfilled and innovative, leaders more potent and empathetic, and businesses more effective at reaching their goals in a rapidly evolving market.
"If this Fourth Industrial Revolution has taught us anything thus far, it is that change does not revolve, it evolves rapidly,” said Tarshia Stanley, Wagner’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Heather McGowan helps us put this into perspective and empowers us to shape change rather than be daunted by it.”
McGowan is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. She received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in 2022.
McGowan is best known for her unmatched ability to bring pure and memorable clarity to this incredibly complex topic, often through her illuminating graphic frameworks and powerful metaphors — all backed by deep and proven research on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as empowerment, engagement, retention, culture, human resources, leadership, healthcare, technology and education.
The Kaufmans endowed and established the lecture series in 2006 with the goal of bringing noted speakers to campus and the community. Past speakers have included former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins; Ken Jackson, professor of history and social science at Columbia University; Rebecca Skloot, author of the award-winning book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”; Bonnie Bassler, Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and a 2002 MacArthur Fellow; and Joel Kotkin, author of “The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050.”
