About Great Ideas Institutes

The University Fellows Great Ideas Institute is dedicated to teaching and promoting the enduring ideas of the Western intellectual tradition. It offers a series of seminars throughout the year for Samford students and faculty and a summer seminar for high school juniors and seniors. 

What we offer:

The Great Ideas Summer Institute for rising high school juniors and seniors is a unique week-long academic experience hosted on the campus of Samford University. This week offers an opportunity for intellectually ambitious students to enjoy the energy of a college classroom, engage ideas that form the essence of human learning, and develop friendships with exceptional high school students from around the country. 

The Samford Faculty Great Ideas Seminar is a week-long intellectual development opportunity for faculty to read and discuss a group of classical texts. Past seminars have covered the Histories of Herodotus and Early Christianity and the Apostolic Fathers. The seminar is conducted much like a graduate seminar, with faculty leading daily discussions of the readings. 

The Great Ideas Distinguished Scholar Series brings a scholar of exceptional talent to Samford's campus for a series of lectures and discussions. Upcoming Distinguished Scholar is Peter Kaufman, Professor and George Matthews & Virginia Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies at Richmond University. 

The Nobel Prize Big Read is an opportunity for students and faculty to meet once a semester and discuss in small groups a great work by a Nobel Laureate. Past Big Read discussions have included Herta Muller's The Land of the Green Plums, J.M.G. LeClézio's Wandering Star, and Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat.