This endowment was established with a gift from Hildegarde M. Romberg, PhB 1921, AM '35, PhD '50, in honor and memory of her parents Philip and Ida Romberg. The lecture series enables Germanic Studies to invite renowned scholars and thinkers from other institutions in the United States, abroad, and especially in Germany. One of the founding aims was to encourage the exchange of ideas and to foster greater mutual understanding between the United States and Germany.