In 2016, Mr. Jeff Silk and Dr. Ludwig Chincarini began speaking about starting a speaker series to benefit the students of the University of San Francisco, as well as the entire University of San Francisco community. This ultimately became the Silk Speaker Series, which has hosted speakers such as Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers, Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of State, and others. They also had invited Nobel Prize winners in the Economic Sciences to come and speak.
In 2019, Mr. Silk and Dr. Chincarini decided to create a different series consisting of Nobel prize winners that would be more academically inclined and allow students a deep insight into some of the most important issues in economics. They spent time thinking about it and designing it until it ultimately became the Silk Lectures Featuring Nobel Laureates at the University of San Francisco. The debut of the series was September 17, 2019 which featured Nobel laureate Vernon Smith. The hope is that this series will help educate the University of San Francisco community as well as the world community. Ultimately, we owe a tremendous thanks to Mr. Jeff Silk who has used his success to give back to our community. This speaker series would not be possible without the generosity, foresight, and sponsorship of Jeff Silk, Naomi Silk, and the Silk family.