Join us for our annual Keith Kelroy Convocation! All Chancellor's Scholars must attend one Keith Kelroy Convocation during their time in the program, and we offer one such event per year. This year's guest speaker is Matthew Birkhold, author of Chasing Icebergs. In this spellbinding book, Matthew Birkhold argues the glistening leviathans of the ocean may very well hold the key to saving the planet. Matthew Birkhold is a professor at The Ohio State University, focusing on law, environmental humanities, intellectual property, and Indigenous studies. He is the author of "Characters before Copyright" and his essays and op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, the Washington Post, the Paris Review, and Indian Country Today.
This event will begin on Thursday, November 13 at 5pm. Dinner will be provided, then you'll hear Matthew Birkhold speak; you will also have the opportunity to have your book signed.
Seniors and juniors will be given priority for this event, with interested sophomores and freshmen admitted if space permits. Please register for the event at your earliest convenience as this event will fill quickly, but no later than Monday, October 27, 2025.
If you are committed to attending the event, please stop by the Campus Honors House to pick up your free copy of Chasing Icebergs any time between 8:45am-11:45am and 1:15-4:45pm Monday-Friday. If you register and then find out you can no longer attend, please email us at chp@illinois.edu to let us know, as another student from the waitlist will be able to take your spot; please also return your book to us so we make sure we have enough for those students still attending.
If this event is full when you try to register, please email chp@illinois.edu to be placed on the waitlist.