Michelle Lim
Journal Contributor

Over a century ago, at the corner of Ashburton Place and Bowdoin Street, George Coleman had a vision to open lectures in Ford Hall to the public. The advent of the Internet and television was yet to be discovered and the only way the public would ingest information was by attending the lectures.
Although times have changed, Coleman’s legacy still stands today. 103 years later, the Ford Hall Forum runs as a non-profit organization that continues to host free public lectures. Since forming a partnership with Suffolk University, the Ford Hall Forum has returned fairly close to its original location.
Today, the process of having a Ford Hall Forum  event begins with the board brainstorming and settling on topics and speakers. More than just lectures, the concept of Ford Hall is to provoke audience reaction and interaction through discussions. Indeed, half of the forum is dedicated to the audience ranging from topics like biology to sociology and even politics. There is plenty of room for debate.
Speakers come to the Forum by their own volition. Operating as a non-profit organization that does not pay its speakers, it has managed to garner an impressive track record of big names including Maya Angelou, former Rhode Island Mayor Buddy Cianci and actress Ashley Judd.
Discussing the issues of the day, the Ford Hall Forum has attracted a large crowd with venues fraught with anywhere from one to three hundred people a lecture- some of them being people from the Suffolk community.
Executive Director of Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, Jennifer Bonardi, recalls an instance when a delayed flight impeded a lecturer from presenting about fair trade resulting with Suffolk professor Dr. Tuerck, chair of the economics department, not only taking his place but also his 30 students to the forum.
The “energy and enthusiasm,” Bonardi mentioned of the students is exactly what Ford Hall Forum needs, whether registering in advance online or showing up spontaneously. Forums are usually held at the C. Walsh Theatre, Suffolk Law School, or the Modern Theatre on Thursday evenings.
There are two sessions—fall and spring—with six to seven lectures per semester. For more information, check out fordhallforum.org for schedules and posts. Even voice your thoughts online in the comments section. Lecture forums are available for download on iTunes.