Lionel Trilling (1905-75), one of Columbia's most celebrated faculty members, was among the great humanist scholars and public intellectuals of the 20th century. In his memory, The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities sponsors a series of intellectual conversations known as the Lionel Trilling Seminars.

In 2025 spring, esteemed law and human rights scholar Kendall Thomas delivered a lecture entitled "Another University."