Made possible by the gift of Madge and Val Lorwin, the inaugural Lorwin Lectureship will focus on Women’s Rights in a Global World. But who were the Lorwins? A conversation with UO history professor George Sheridan.

Q: You taught in the same department as Val Lorwin. How well did you know Val and Madge Lorwin?

Val interviewed me. I am Val’s successor in his job. I went there in 1976. I moved into their place, I think it was 1978. And then I stayed there until I got married, which was in 1986. So I was there through all that time.

In 1991, Anita Hill started a national conversation on sexual harassment when she testified that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had subjected her to unwanted sexual advances years earlier. Today, Hill is a leader in the fight against gender-based violence.