MacArthur's John Palfrey Headlines Loeschner Lecture
John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is the featured speaker for the 2025 Ray and Nancy Loeschner Lecture Series on Leadership on Nov. 19 at Northwestern University.
Palfrey, an educator, author, legal scholar, and innovator with expertise in how new media are changing learning and education, will talk with School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, the Carlos Montezuma Professor. They’ll cover a wide range of issues, including power, purpose and what it means to lead through complexity.
- The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at Northwestern’s Segal Visitors Center, 1841 Sheridan Road in Evanston.
- Register! In person only.
Based in Chicago, with locations in India and Nigeria, the MacArthur Foundation works with people around the world to explore new ideas, approaches and models.
In addition to supporting efforts in areas such as climate change and criminal justice reform, the foundation invests in local, national and international news organizations awards extraordinarily creative people through the MacArthur Fellows Program.
In his annual MacArthur essay, Returning to Fundamental Truths, Building an Inclusive Future, Palfrey offered an alternative to the “move fast and break things” approach to leadership and governance, which has been used from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C. Instead, MacArthur is working to “move fast and build bridges,” he wrote.
New technology, social roles and ways of relating require quick, responsible action, he said. But he sees collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning as keys to creating a brighter future in America and around the world.
“It is a moment in time when we must stand firm and steadfast in support of fundamental truths and commitments,” he wrote. “That means we will speak up for the rule of law in America and around the world. It means we will stand with and for our colleagues in charitable foundations and nonprofits as we fund according to our mission and values—freely and without interference, even when we disagree with them on many specific issues.”
In a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy podcast, Palfrey explained why he believes the broader issue of giving is a crucial First Amendment right. He has also argued that his great-great-grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, and others in the conservation movement “did not do enough to protect the Earth with equity in mind.”
Older adults in the digital age
An authority on how people use technology, Palfrey’s most recent book, “Wired Wisdom: How to Age Better Online,” busts common myths about how older adults relate to privacy, security, and connection in the digital age.
“Too often we have the image in our mind of a hapless grandparent or older person in our life who can’t turn on the new phone they’ve received, or they can’t fix the blinking light on the VCR,” Palfrey told the Harvard Gazette.
The book, which he co-authored with the University of Zurich’s Eszter Hargittai, emphasizes that technology is part of thriving in older age — not something that’s a hardship.
His other books include “Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces: Diversity and Free Expression in Education” and “Born Digital: How Children Grow Up in a Digital Age,” co-authored with Urs Gasser.
A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Palfrey serves on its governance council. He is the former board chair of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
He is also board chair of the United States Impact Investing Alliance; co-chair of the Disability and Inclusion Forum’s Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy; and serves on the board of the Fidelity Nonprofit Management Foundation.
Palfrey earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge, and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College. Prior to joining the foundation, Palfrey served as head of school at Phillips Academy Andover.
About the Loeschner Lecture Series on Leadership
Established in 2013 by a gift from School of Education and Social Policy alumnus Ray Loeschner, the Nancy and Ray Loeschner Lecture Series on Leadership presents visionary leaders in education and other fields. Loeschner is the former president of Olivet University and a pioneer in higher education. In 2006 he received the Northwestern University Alumni Association Alumni Merit Award for the School of Education and Social Policy.