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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, October 23, 2025

Economic historian Niall Ferguson comes to the Hill

Renowned economic historian Niall Ferguson, who was among the few to accurately predict the financial crisis of the late 2000s, will next month deliver the 15th Richard E. Snyder President's Lecture.

The Snyder lecture series was established in 2004 as a forum to provoke dialogue about contemporary issues on the Hill.

Ferguson is a frequent political and economic contributor to media outlets in the United States and Great Britain. He is a regular contributor to Bloomberg Television and writes a weekly column for Newsweek.

Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences James Glaser said that Ferguson was selected, in line with the series' founding principles, for his ability to engage and challenge the audience.

"Prof. Ferguson is an extraordinary historian, but we invited him for reasons that go beyond his excellent scholarship," Glaser said in an email. "He has very provocative views and is known for his assertive style ... there's no question in my mind that he will challenge our preconceived notions next month."

Ferguson holds numerous academic positions. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, the William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a senior research fellow at Jesus College at Oxford University.

A prolific writer, Ferguson has expounded on themes ranging from financial history to war. In his book "Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power" (2003), Ferguson chronicles the power of the British Empire in over 300 pages, claiming that the United States is the next such empire.

"I read his book ‘Empire' a few years ago," Glaser said."He definitely defied my expectations on the subject."

Ferguson's books have been converted into televisions series and documentaries. "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World" (2008) aired as a four-part series on PBS and won an International Emmy in 2009.

His lecture, entitled "The Financial Crisis and the Descent of the West," will take place on Oct. 13 at 4:30 p.m. at Distler Performance Hall. Free tickets will be available on Oct. 6 at the Dowling Hall Student Services Center.

Funding for the lecture series is provided by Richard Snyder (A '55), former chairman and CEO of Simon & Schuster.

Last semester's lecture featured journalist Bob Woodward, who was instrumental in exposing the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. Previous speakers include conservative race theorist Shelby Steele and MTV co-Founder Tom Freston.