Symposium is an annual event that brings together the entire Pebble Beach Campus as a community of learners to study and discuss – on the same day – a significant and timely issue of global importance. Besides enhancing our learning community across grade levels and across disciplines, the aims of Symposium are to connect our campus to the larger world and to foster continued engagement and involvement.
On Symposium day, which is held annually in the spring term, regular classes are canceled while the entire student body and faculty attend a "professional conference" on the Pebble Beach campus, which may include keynote speakers, break-out sessions, activities, films, and discussions, as well as artistic presentations and performances. Presenters have ranged from nationally renowned experts in their field to parents and alumni with special expertise connected to the Symposium theme that year. Symposium also provides an opportunity for students and teachers to propose and present a workshop related to that year’s theme during Symposium.
Byron Stevens, head of the History Department, is the overall coordinator of the Symposium program. Typically, each Symposium has a different faculty director, as different academic departments take the lead in organizing and presenting the Symposium for that year; however, one of the aims – and early successes – of the Symposium program has been its ability to draw on many disciplines and perspectives, as well as the amazing (and sometimes hidden) talents of a wide range of people within the Stevenson community.
The Symposium is an internal Stevenson School event for students and faculty. Due to space limitations, the presentations are not open to parents or to the public.