Visiting Scholars Program

Each year, distinguished scholars, artists, lecturers, and teachers are brought to campus to enhance the school’s program and give boys exposure to other perspectives, ideas, and experiences. Funding comes to St. Mark’s from the Robert E. Dennard Visiting Scholars Program, The Willard E. Walker, Jr ’66 Visiting Scholar Program, and the Green-McDermott Guest Lecture Fund. Notable authors, lecturers, historians, scientists, business leaders, artists, and others share their knowledge, experience, and insight with the students as they lecture, perform, and visit classes. Guest lecturers bring a variety of interesting topics to campus in an effort to enrich and broaden the education of our boys.

Robert E. Dennard Visiting Scholar for 2019–2020
David Shoemaker
Astronomer and Astrophysicist

David Shoemaker is the Director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Lab at MIT and the Leader of the Advanced LIGO Project to build the detectors used in the discovery of gravitational waves. First working in the domain of Cosmic Microwave Background on the COBE satellite, he earned degrees in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Université de Paris. He has testified before Congress on the LIGO effort and how it is expected to benefit science and innovation in the future, and he is an advocate for scientific exploration. Shoemaker is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. David is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and is now working to enable third-generation approaches to better gravitational-wave detector sensitivity and supporting efforts to put detectors in space.


Willard E. Walker, Jr. ’66 Visiting Scholar for 2019–2020
Bryan Mealer
Bestselling Author & Journalist
 
Bryan Mealer is the author of The Kings of Big Spring, Muck City and the New York Times bestseller The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind — written with William Kamkwamba — which has been translated into more than a dozen languages. The book was recently adapted into a Netflix film directed by and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. Bryan is also the author of All Things Must Fight to Live, which chronicles his years covering the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the Associated Press and Harper’s. His other work has appeared in Texas Monthly, Esquire, The Guardian, and The New York Times.

Past Guests

2021–2022
Michelle "MACE" Curran ~ US Air Force Thunderbird pilot

2019–2020
David Shoemaker ~ Astronomer and Astrophysicist
Bryan Mealer ~ Bestselling Author & Journalist

2018–2019

James Prosek ~ Artist, writer, and naturalist
Ruta Sepetys ~ Bestselling author of historical fiction

2017–2018
Robert Edsel ’75 ~ Bestselling author and historian
Grace Lin ~ Children's Author and Illustrator

2016–2017
Casey Sherman ~ Bestselling author, screenwriter, and storyteller
Dr. Alex McDonald ~ Pianist

2015–2016
Eugene Yelchin ~ Award-winning artist, author, and children’s book illustrator
Mr. Carl Zimmer ~ Science Writer & Blogger

2014–2015
Dr. Harold Tanner ~ History Professor & World Traveler
James O’Donnell ~ Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey

2013–2014
Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky ~ Biologist, Neuroscientist, Writer, and Stress Expert
Celebration Jazz Orchestra ~ Musical Group

2012–2013
Billy Collins ~ Former U.S. Poet Laureate
Dr. Wade Davis ~ Ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker

2011–2012
Dr. Andrea Bertozzi ~ Applied Mathematician
Dr. David Gonzalez ~ Latin Storyteller

2010–2011
Robin Wiszowaty ~ Kenya Program Director, Free The Children
Craig Kielburger ~ Founder & Chair, Free The Children
Rob Kapilow ~ Conductor/Composer

2009–2010
Dr. Spencer Wells ~ Population Geneticist
Dr. Charles Kimball ~ Director of Religious Studies, University of Oklahoma
Jeffery Davis ~ Poet & Creative Writing Coach

2008–2009
Dr. Mark Moffett ~ Ecologist & National Geographic Photographer
Alma Guillermoprieto ~ Latin American Journalist
Dr. H.W. Brands ~ Professor of American History, UT

2007–2008
Cedza Dlamini ~ Social Developer in Africa
The N’Awlins Gumbo Kings ~ Jazz Musicians
Janet Wallach ~ President, Seeds of Peace

2006–2007
Dr. Alan Stern ’75 ~ Planetary Scientist
Naomi Shiham Nye ~ Poet, Essayist, and Teacher
Dr. Louise Leakey ~ Paleoanthropologist

2005–2006
James McLurkin ~ Roboticist
Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt ~ Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies
Dr. Francisco Jimenez ~ Writer & Professor of Mexican-American Literature

2004–2005
Gus Lee ~ Author & Ethicist
Jonathan Holloway & Raul Ramos ~ Yale Race Relations Professors
David H. Levy ~ Science Editor, Parade Magazine; Co-Discoverer of Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet

2003–2004
Tim Severin ~ Explorer & Writer
Charles Duff ~ Shakespearean Actor & Director
Wade Davis ~ Anthropologist, Ethnobotanist & Explorer

St. Mark’s School of Texas

10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000

About Us

St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.

St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.