From June 14-18, 2022, some of the country’s preeminent global thought leaders converged over three days in Western North Carolina for the inaugural Asheville Ideas Fest. Hosted by the University of North Carolina Asheville, the Asheville Ideas Fest is rooted in a belief that seeing the world’s significant challenges from new perspectives can improve our world.
Throughout the Asheville Ideas Fest, more than 400 guests experienced engaging panel discussions and thought-provoking keynote speakers in an exploration of topics consequential to the current landscape. Take a look at just a few of the experiences offered this year:
Asheville Ideas Fest kicked off with a special reception, concert, and the tapping of the AIF Launch Lager at Highland Brewing Company.
The first day of panels began with a recorded welcome from director Ken Burns.
UNC Asheville Professor Emeritus of Literature Rick Chess introduced the panelists for "Enduring Lessons of Literature and the Humanities," National Book Award Winner Jason Mott and New York Times Bestselling author Elizabeth Kostova, moderated by New York Times bestselling author and UNC Asheville Alumnus Wiley Cash ‘00.
Ed Buckley, CEO of Peerfit and Jim Philip, Founder of Vu Partners, discussed "The Art of Being Uncomfortable: Entrepreneurship in Today’s Dynamic Environment," moderated by Jeffrey Kaplan, Director of Venture Asheville.
Environmental thought leader Dr. Bill McKibben presented the day's keynote address, "Our Shared Environmental Legacy: What’s Next."
Fareed Zakaria, author, journalist and public intellectual, presented "Democracy Around the Globe: Myths and Reality," at a free and open lecture in Kimmel Arena, with Asheville Ideas Fest participants and members of the Asheville community in attendance.
The day concluded with a special coffee house concert by Grammy winning guitarist and vocalist Graham Sharp of the Steep Canyon Rangers.
The day began at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts with a live taping of "The Waters & Harvey Show: The Renaissance of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities." The podcast is hosted by Dr. Darin Waters, NC’s State Historian, and Dr. Marcus Harvey, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at UNC Asheville, with an expert panel of chancellors and presidents; Lynn Pasquerella, President of the American Association of Colleges and Universities; Dr. Harold Martin, Chancellor of North Carolina A&T; Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye, Chancellor of North Carolina Central University; and Dr. Elwood L. Robinson, Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University.
Author, historian, and public intellectual Jon Meacham presented "The Soul of America, The Next Chapter."
Filmmaker Lynn Novick presented a special screening of her documentary, "College Behind Bars." She was joined by special guests Rodney Spivey Jones, a public speaker and graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative featured in "College Behind Bars;" Reginald Dwayne Betts, graduate of Yale Law school, Mellon grant recipient and MacArthur Foundation Fellow; Patrick Bahls, UNC Asheville Professor of Mathematics and director of the University's Prison Education Program, and Micah Hayes, UNC Asheville student and graduate of the Prison Education Program.
Participants were treated to an evening with Asheville Symphony Orchestra's ALT ASO, a flexible chamber music series, with a performance that ran musical gamut from the femme fatales of opera to pop and grunge.
James Bradley, Secretary of Education for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Shana Bushyhead Condill, Executive Director at Museum of the Cherokee Indian, discussed "The Eastern Band of Cherokee: Present and Future."
"William L. Roper Lecture in Medicine & Public Health: The Future of Medicine and Public Health: Key Issues of our Time" was moderated by Dr. Patrice Harris, Co-Founder & CEO of eMed and past President of the American Medical Association, and featured Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, Vice President of Global Health from Emory; and Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health and Dean of the UNC School of Medicine. Medical and public health experts also joined for a respondent panel.
For more information about the Asheville Ideas Fest, visit the website:
© 2026 UNC Asheville
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