The J. Douglas Gibson Lecture Series was established in 1988 by family and friends to honour the memory of Mr. J. Douglas Gibson, Chairman of Queen's University Board of Trustees from 1969 to 1975.

The Gibson Lecture brings to Queen's an internationally renowned scholar or public figure to deliver a public lecture on a topic relevant to the School's mandate. Past lecturers have included Professor Robert Mundell of Columbia University, Professor Susan Strange of the European University Institute, Dr. Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Dr. Ammar Siamwalla, Distinguished Scholar at the Thailand Development Research Institute, John Ruggie, Assistant  Secretary-General, United Nations and Gordon Thiessen, Governor of the Bank of Canada. 

Since 2000, the Gibson lecture has been given by Professor Rebecca Blank, Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan; Dr. Demetrios Papademetriou, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute, Washington, DC. The Lecture Series continued on February 3, 2005 with a speech by Dr. Lester Salamon.