Since 1988 the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues has brought a diversity of viewpoints on international and public policy issues to the University and the state. It was conceived by Cooper Foundation’s President E.N. “Jack” Thompson as a program to increase Nebraskans’ understanding of the people and cultures of other countries, and the challenges that face us all. The Cooper Foundation board pledged major support, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln agreed to co-sponsor the Forum by providing management and financial support. The Lied Center for Performing Arts opened in 1990 and has been a major partner since. In 1990, the Foundation and the University renamed the series in Jack’s honor, and what started as the “Cooper Foundation-UNL Forum on World Issues” became the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues.
Jack Thompson’s early experiences and varied career informed the creation of the series. A native of York, Nebraska, he received his undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As a graduate student he was awarded the Columbia School of Journalism Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship which allowed him and his wife Katie to spend two years in London, Geneva, and Berlin while he reported for the Associated Press. The first-hand experience of witnessing the build-up to World War II would affect their thinking for the rest of their lives. As a staff member at the State Department, he was a Special Assistant at the Conference on the Founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. He then worked for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, before returning to Nebraska in 1950.
Since its founding the Thompson Forum has brought hundreds of experts to share their knowledge with the people of Nebraska. World leaders, historians, scientists, authors, journalists, artists, and activists have given us their views on topics such as human rights, national and global security, the environment, democracy, terrorism, the arts, religion, medicine, science, water, and more, covering every region and every continent on the globe. Speakers have included world leaders such as former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu and Elie Wiesel, journalists David Brooks and Lynsey Addario, activists Bill McKibben and Jose Antonio Vargas, former government officials including John Bolton, Samantha Power, and Robert MacNamara, artists Yo Yo Ma, Misty Copeland, Bono, and many more. We have featured accomplished Nebraskans including Chuck Hagel, Bob Kerrey, Ted Sorensen, Joel Sartore, Michael Forsberg and Mary Pipher.
Housed within the University Honors Program, the Thompson Forum is managed by a collaborative and multi-disciplinary team and a robust committee of educators and community leaders, and the series partners with academic and community partners for every event. Thompson Forum activities that complement mainstage speakers include Cooper Conversations that connect Honors students with local leaders for in-depth discussions, youth panel presentations on relevant topics, and workshops for students and the public.