The Lader Heritage Lecture is endowed by a gift to Sanford from the Lader Family. The lecture series, launched in 2023, features speakers addressing the connection between religious, ethical and/or spiritual traditions and modern-day public policy.
This includes topics like America’s experiment with self-governance, civic engagement, U.S. laws, societal concerns, moral questions, human purpose, moral courage, and ethical behavior.
Using the broad lens of religious traditions and teachings, the goal of the lecture is to stir the Duke community towards greater reflection on how such wisdom of the ages can inform then-current public policy perspectives and decisions.
Eruditio et Religio
The endowment is in appreciation for the important role Duke University has had in Ambassador Philip Lader’s life. Lader appreciates Duke’s excellence in teaching and research, and its motto, “Eruditio et Religio” which means “erudition and religion.”