UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Forum Speaker Series has announced its lineup for Fall 2026. The forum series, modeled after the National Press Club Speaker Series, includes a presentation by an invited speaker, followed by audience questions.
Invited to speak on topics of their choice this fall are three Penn State alumni: Liz Covart, award-winning Early American historian; Uzair Qadeer, chief people officer at the BBC; and Jeff Sundheim, AI (artificial intelligence) business strategist at Tela Strategies.
The buffet-style luncheons are held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in various venues on the University Park campus. All events are open to faculty, staff, students and the general public. Tickets are $25 each, or $250 for a table of 10, and include a buffet lunch.
Registration and tickets are now open for the Fall 2026 speakers. Registration for the spring speakers will be made available at a later date.
Liz Covart, award-winning Early American historian, and Penn State alumna
Sept. 14 at the Penn Stater
Join us in celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States by welcoming award-winning, early American historian Liz Covart. A 2003 Penn State alumna, Covart graduated with a bachelor's degree in history from the College of the Liberal Arts. She is the founding director of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and is best known as the creator, historian and host of the award-winning podcast "Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History." As the founding director of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios, Covart practices a blend of scholarly history, public history and digital humanities. She has research expertise in the American Revolution and is currently working on a history of the Articles of Confederation and American Union. Learn more about Covart at her website.
Uzair Qadeer, chief people officer at the BBC, and Penn State alumnus
Oct. 9 at the Nittany Lion Inn
Uzair Qadeer is chief people officer at the BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.). He holds a master’s degree in manufacturing management and bachelor's degrees in industrial and manufacturing engineering and the liberal arts. At the BBC he oversees the full spectrum of global human resources capabilities across the BBC Group and is responsible for driving the BBC’s short- and long-term employee experience, cultural transformation and organizational change through the people agenda. Qadeer has been a featured public speaker and thought leader on the topics of employee experience, inclusion and the future of human resources. Learn more about Qadeer on the BBC website.
Jeff Sundheim, AI business strategist at Tela Strategies, and Penn State alumnus
Nov. 16 at the Penn Stater
Jeff Sundheim is an AI business strategist at Tela Strategies and a 1983 Penn State alumnus, graduating with his bachelor's degree in business from the Smeal College of Business. Sundheim has spent his entire career at the intersection of creativity and technology. He regularly advises C-Level executives at the world’s largest brands on how AI can fuel new ideas and creativity, driving stronger relationships with customers and the communities they most care about. As a speaker at Google as well as industry events and universities worldwide, Sundheim discusses how AI is creating a “new level playing field” where people with imagination now have access to resources they never thought possible, impacting all facets of society as we know it. Drawing on his dual careers in tech and art, Sundheim helps put those changes into perspective. Learn more about Sundheim at his website.
About the Penn State Forum Speaker Series
The Forum Speaker Series is co-sponsored by the Penn State Bookstore, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the Office of the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, and the John W. Oswald Endowment.
More information about the series, as well as previous and forthcoming topics and speakers, is available on the Penn State Forum website. Suggestions for future Penn State Forum speakers can be shared with Forum coordinator Cassie Marsh-Caldwell.