Dallas Albert Willard (1935-2013), a philosopher and Christian, is remembered today for his contributions to both the university and the church. As an epistemologist, Willard was an international authority on such topics as moral realism and phenomenology. As an author and speaker, Willard was a popular expositor of spiritual practices and contemporary Christian discipleship. Willard earned his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1964. Sixty years later, the Lumen Center seeks to remember and steward the spirit of Willard’s legacy through establishing an annual forum, named in Willard’s honor, for the presentation of Christian scholarship and thought on the grounds of his alma mater.  

The annual Dallas A. Willard Lecture will embody the spirit of “sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth may be found”—part of UW–Madison’s historic and public commitment to education. In engaging, affirming, and challenging the modern university’s pursuit of truth, the Willard Lectures will bring to Madison outstanding scholars who have distinguished themselves both academically and in service to the church. These scholars will engage prevailing ideas, theories, research, cultural questions, and leadership in some dimension relevant to the university’s vitality, mission, or the common good.