The 2018 Great Conversation

About The Great Conversation

Conversation is the foundation of an Honors College education. Each year, more than 300 individuals come together for The Great Conversation, an award-winning fundraising event. It’s also our primary fundraising-event. Proceeds from The Great Conversation provide Honors College scholarships and special support to Honors faculty and programs.

The Great Conversation has the same ideal as the Honors College itself: to foster thoughtfulness about and care for the world by engaging people in disciplined discussion about things that matter. Event topics are drawn from many areas of life, from arts and literature, history, religion, and public policy, to aspects of the city of Houston, just to name a few.

The event format allows all guests to be active participants. The evening begins with a reception and continues with a multi-course dinner paired with fine wine selections. During the meal, guests discuss a topic that has been predetermined for their table; the conversation is facilitated by a University of Houston faculty member or other expert. Guests are encouraged to indicate on their response card their preference for topics. On most occasions, guests can be accommodated at a table offering one of their top three conversation preferences.