Verdes residents and their guests are invited to attend the 2025 Verdes ASU lecture series at the Community Church of the Verdes. All programs are at 4 p.m. Tuesdays.

The series kicks off on Jan. 14 with Professor Amber Wutich of the School of Evolution and Social Change. Her topic is “From a Water War to MAD Water: A New Global Agenda for Water Security in the Climate Change Era.”

Tuesday, Jan. 21, Professor Andres Martinez with the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Special Counsel to ASU President Michael Crow, will be the speaker. Martinez will discuss the topic “Distant Neighbors or Close Family: Making Sense of the Curious US-Mexico Relationship.”

“The Environment of our Early Hominid Ancestors: How We Know and Why it Matters” is the topic of Professor Denise Su, Institute of Human Origins, School of Evolution and Social Change, Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, Professor Michael Schoon, School of Life Science, will speak on “Governance of Wild Horses: A Case Study from Heber, Arizona.”

“Volcanoes of Arizona” is the topic Tuesday, Feb. 11, with Professor Steve Semken from the School of Earth and Space Exploration.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, Professor Jeffery Kordower, ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center School of Life Sciences, will speak on “Pathogenesis and Experimental Therapies for Movement Disorders.”

“ASU Explores the Solar System” will be the topic Tuesday, Feb. 25, with Professor David Williams, School of Earth and Space Exploration.

The lecture series traditionally concludes each year with a musical performance as is the case on Tuesday, March 4. Dr. Wesley Skinner, School of Music, and Professor Meng Yuan, Cleveland Institute of Music will present “French Impressions: A Tour of French Music for Cello and Piano.”

Rio Verde resident and RVCA member Frank Haggard organizes the annual lecture series.