New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman filled the 2003 Solomon-Tenenbaum Lectureship for Jewish Studies on September 30. His lecture in the evening, "The Middle East: AN Update on Changing Events," was preceded by an afternoon symposium, featuring Friedman, moderated by Charles Bierbauer, Dean of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies. Both events were held in the Koger Center.

The lectureship was generously supported by the Ben Arnold - Sunbelt Beverage Co., Blue Cross/Blue Shield of SC, the Hearst Foundation, Kahn Development, SMI Steel South Carolina, and the Solomon-Tenenbaum Endowment.