Chicago Society

Chicago Society (founded 2001) is a recognized student organization at the University of Chicago. It hosts speakers in a wide variety of fields, from politics and economics to music and art. Chicago Society events vary greatly in scale, from small private gatherings to large public conferences. Chicago Society brings top speakers from all over the world to the University of Chicago, providing forums for discussion and debate on a multitude of issues.
Past Conferences
Chicago Society has hosted several major events over the last six years: The Economic Crisis: Past, Present, and Predictions (2009), Petroleum: Prospects and Politics (2007), China and the Future of the World (2006), Consolidating Democracy in Mexico (2004), and Colombia: Confronting Conflict, Striving Towards Peace (2003).
The Economic Crisis: Past, Present, and Predictions
The panel addressed pressing questions surrounding the financial crisis, fiscal and monetary policy (particularly in regards to the 2009 stimulus package), and where the economy was headed. The four speakers included Charles Evans, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Leo Melamed, the emeritus chairman of the CME, Lars Peter Hansen, the Homer J. Livingston Distinguished Service Professor of the University of Chicago Economics department, and John Cochrane, the Myron S. Scholes professor of the Chicago Booth School of Business. The event was moderated by Grace Tsiang, the director of undergraduate studies in economics and a senior lecturer of the economics department.
Petroleum: Prospects and Politics
The petroleum conference featured three panels and two keynote speakers, including Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States and Alan Hegburg, United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Energy Policy. The conference received coverage in nationwide and international news organizations including Bloomberg News and China Post .
China and the Future of the World
The China conference featured four panels and three keynote speakers, including Wang Guangya, the Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations, Christopher R. Hill, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Peter W. Rodman, then the United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Chicago Society won the 2006 Outstanding Student Event Award at the University of Chicago for its work on the conference. The conference commanded significant coverage in campus publications as well as in outside sources and official records
Consolidating Democracy in Mexico
The Mexico conference addressed the continuing challenges to Mexican democracy. Guests included Santiago Creel, then Mexico's Secretary of the Interior, and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and three-time presidential nominee.
Other Events
Chicago Society hosts many events every year. A comprehensive list can be found on the website. Past guests have included: Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; Reginald Robinson, winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant; Charles Wheelan, author of Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science; Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation; and David D. Hiller, publisher and CEO of the Chicago Tribune.

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