This yearly event brings leading scholars and practitioners of the art of the theatre to the Albany campus. Funded by Jarka and Grayce Susan Burian, two of the Capital District's leading theatrical educators and artists, the lecture honors Dr. Burian's long and influential service at the University.

Jarka Burian, Professor Emeritus of Theatre at the University at Albany, is the leading American scholar of Czech theatre and is the author of the award-winning book "The Scenography of Josef Svoboda," a seminal critical study of the work of one of the twentieth century's most influential theatrical designers. He is also author of several other book-length studies of Svoboda's work in addition to the recently published "Modern Czech Theatre: Reflector and Conscience of a Nation" and numerous scholarly articles on scenography and Czech theatre. Burian served on the faculty of the University at Albany form 1955 to 1993, and also taught at Cornell, Berkeley, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and the University of Central Florida.

Grayce Susan Burian, who received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the UAlbany, and also taught there, is best known for her long tenure as the director of the theatre program at Schenectady Community College, which she founded and nurtured into one of the most successful two-year theatre programs in the State.