The Institute regularly hosts the Germaine Brée Lecture and the Nellie Y. McKay Lecture to honor two distinguished and pioneering former members of the Institute. With the Center for the Humanities, the Institute sponsors 2-5 Focus on the Humanities Distinguished Lectures given by UW-Madison faculty members each year. Senior Fellows at the Institute deliver a Focus lecture near the end or after their terms. The Institute also organizes or co-sponsors lectures series and individual lectures on selected topics. All lectures are open to the public.