Paul Lappin retires after 34 years as executive secretary of the Parker Lecture Series

From left: Moses Greeley Parker Lectures Committee member Brian Martin, recently retired Executive Secretary Paul Lappin, committee chair John Carson, committee member William Samaras and newly appointed Executive Secretary Dan Guttenplan at Lowell City Hall where Lappin received an award from the city on June 25, 2024. Lappin retired from his position in late May after leading the local lecture series for 34 years, and Guttenplan was elected as his successor. (Courtesy of Erastus Mwangi)

LOWELL – After 34 years at the helm, Paul Lappin resigned from his post as executive secretary of the Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series at the end of May and journalist Dan Guttenplan took his place.

When Lappin took over the role in the early 1990s, the Parker Lecture Series focused primarily on travel writing, which he said in a phone call on July 8 was extremely popular at the time.

“People were excited. The hall was packed to hear these people tell about their travels around the world on 16mm film,” Lappin said.

They also gave smaller lectures throughout the year on topics such as the U.S. Constitution, the functions of government, health and finance, among others. Over time, however, Lappin said, the audience “aged up” and younger people had less interest in the travel diary series because such information became more easily accessible at home with the advent of cable television and later the Internet.

In the hope of attracting a younger audience, Lappin said they focused more on the lectures, which he did to some extent.

Lappin has since retired from both his role with the Parker Lecture Series and his position as a social studies teacher at Greater Lowell Technical High School – a position he held for 35 years – and said he was ready to hand the reins over to someone else.

“Thirty-four years is a long time,” said Lappin. “Leave the trouble to someone else.”

Lappin expressed confidence that Guttenplan could steer the Parker Lecture Series in a positive direction.

Guttenplan took over on June 1. He previously studied journalism at the University of New Hampshire and worked for several newspapers, including the Gloucester Daily Times and the Eagle Tribune. He currently works as an editor for the New England Baseball Journal, through which he launched The Base Path podcast in 2020, which gave him the kind of experience the Parker Lectures board wanted for Lappin’s successor.

“It is always a great pleasure to introduce a guest to an audience in an entertaining and informative way, and I hope to be able to do the same for the Lowell audience here,” said Guttenplan.

Guttenplan said he hopes to continue to focus on lectures, but he may look to reduce the number of lectures each year as the organization tries to return to the crowded spaces of the 1990s. To do that, Guttenplan said, they are working with City Manager Tom Golden to find guest lecturers who would appeal to larger audiences and to secure larger venues for those lectures while the organization does not yet have a permanent home.

“It is an honor for me to continue the mission that Moses Greeley Parker began and that Paul has carried on for the past 34 years,” Guttenplan said.

John Carson, chairman of the Parker Lecture Committee, praised Lappin’s ability to find high-caliber speakers for the lecture series while also organizing good venues for their performance.

“He’s a good guy and has done a good job for over 30 years,” Carson said. “Dan has big shoes to fill.”

Committee member Brian Martin has only been involved in the lecture series for about four years, but has known Lappin for 50 years, since they taught together.

“It’s a loss for the Parker series because Paul had so much passion for the work and dedicated his entire life to continuing the wonderful gift that Parker gives to the city,” Martin said. “We hope Dan stays as long as Paul did.”

Committee member Bill Samaras said he remembers his youth when the audience at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium was filled to capacity. He looks forward to working with the city in the future to attract more prominent speakers and increase the number of speakers again. Samaras also praised Lappin’s ability to find good speakers during his time as executive secretary.

“It was interesting how he involved so many different groups. Heads of the Federal Reserve, poets, authors who might not be on the bestseller list but presented their biographies of people in the colonial army,” Samaras said.

The lecture series was founded over a century ago in 1917 following the death of Moses Greeley Parker, who left a large endowment in his will to fund the series with the intention of making each lecture free and accessible to all. Parker was a physician in Dracut who made his fortune by investing early in Alexander Graham Bell’s American Telephone Company.