Ringling College TOWN HALL Celebrates Its 45th Season

Back in 1981, the Ringling College Library Association held the first TOWN HALL Speaker Series, creating a beloved Sarasota institution that celebrates its 45th anniversary in 2026.

The four-month-long series runs from January to April every year and features different speakers each month. In 2026, attendees can look forward to seeing a varied group of luminaries from the worlds of politics, entertainment and conservation. Among the scheduled speakers are Former Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, documentarian Ken Burns and CNN legal analyst Laura Coates.

While most of these people can be seen on television regularly as a host or an interviewee, the TOWN HALL series offers a unique experience.

“There’s nothing like hearing directly from experts,” said Lauren Kurnov, Executive Director of Ringling College TOWN HALL. “It really brings leading news stories and hot topics to life.”

The format itself helps accomplish this goal. Speakers can choose between a 45-minute keynote address or a 60-minute fireside chat. In both scenarios, audience members can submit questions ahead of time, so they really feel a connection with the speaker and the topic.

Another way the audience is engaged in the TOWN HALL series is by suggesting topics and speakers for subsequent years. An advisory committee also weighs in, and Kurnov scours national lists like TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, along with other sources, before narrowing the list down to five speakers.

“It’s a matter of figuring out what our audience is interested in, what are the the most noteworthy speakers of today, and then, what together will make for a balanced lineup where there’s something for everyone,” Kurnov said of curating the speakers for each year.

The TOWN HALL Speaker Series was originally developed to raise funds for the Ringling School of Art & Design’s first library.

Since then, the Ringling College Library Association continued to fund the library, raising enough proceeds to build the current Alfred Goldstein Library in 2017. In 2023, the association merged with the college itself, and the TOWN HALL now raises funds for student scholarships, as well as the library’s collections and programs.

The community at large also benefits from the series because it serves as a place for dialogue about important issues.

“I think it’s really serving a critically important role in terms of what makes for a healthy exchange of ideas in society,” Kurnov said.

Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a member or subscribing to the series should visit www.ringlingcollegetownhall.org.