Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to present 2015 Chandler Lecture

LAWRENCE — Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer Inc., will deliver the University of Kansas School of Business Anderson Chandler Lecture at 11 a.m. Nov. 20 at the Lied Center.

The lecture will be presented as the school’s 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Week event in partnership with the School of Engineering’s SELF Leadership Program. Ticketing information will be released at a later date.

Wozniak, who currently serves as chief scientist at Primary Data, helped shape the computing industry with his design of Apple’s first line of products, the Apple I and II. He and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. in 1976 with Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer, and the following year, Wozniak introduced the Apple II personal computer, which featured a central processing unit, a keyboard, color graphics and a floppy disk drive.

Since leaving Apple in 1985, Wozniak has been involved in business and philanthropic ventures, focusing on computer capabilities and innovation in education. He has served as chief scientist for Fusion-io and has written an autobiography, “iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon,” a New York Times best-seller.

In 1985, Wozniak received the National Medal of Technology, an honor granted by the president of the United States, for his work at Apple Computers, and in 2000, he was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame and received the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment.

Wozniak earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. His wife, Janet Wozniak, is a Baldwin City native and has a master’s degree in education from KU.

Anderson Chandler is a KU School of Business alumnus and one of the first alumni to be honored with the School of Business Distinguished Alumni Award. Chandler, who makes the lectures possible each year, is chairman and CEO of Fidelity State Bank & Trust Co. of Topeka.

Previous Chandler lectures featured Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, FBI agent and KU School of Business alumnus Robert Herndon, and former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves.

The Self Engineering Leadership Fellows Program was established in 2007, made possible by a gift to KU Endowment Association from Madison “Al” and Lila Self.

Photo credit: Michael Bulbenko.