Every time a prominent speaker comes and goes from campus, offering lectures and forums to share knowledge with the students, it is the culmination of planning, effort and resources by students, faculty and administrators across Boston University.

Each college recruits academic speakers individually and each has different criteria as to how they choose their speakers.

The College of Arts and Sciences chooses speakers based on their expertise, on whether they have relevant experience to bring to the subject and if they can engage student audiences, according to CAS Communications Director Bari Walsh.

“I work most closely with alumni events and I know that the people who choose the speakers at these events are looking for people whose experiences may resonate with current students,” she said. “We want to bring back those alumni who can speak to current students about subjects that are close at hand, close at heart.”

Many schools tend to have alumni and professors speak and give lectures because they are generally the easiest type of people to recruit, according to college administrators.

“A lot of it is about location and availability, and whether a particular alum will have something to offer,” College of Fine Arts Development and Alumni Relations Director Chris Santos said.

Santos said name recognition is sometimes important, noting that Jason Alexander volunteered his services and was very gracious with his time helping CFA and speaking at various classes. CFA also holds an alumni panel to speak to students about career opportunities.

“[The alums] are good about sharing information,” Santos said.

School of Management senior Lavina Dadlani attended a lecture hosted by Dove and Unilever, with guest speaker Wendy Straker, who spoke about her book, Sexy Jobs in the City.

“The lecture gave me insight as to how to pursue jobs,” she said. “I learned that there are different opportunities out there for jobs that I would never think as a possible career.”

Some colleges hold special annual or distinguished speaker panels or lecture series. CGS has an annual Stanley Stone lecture, which is funded by a BU alum.

“We have student groups who pick people to speak,” College of General Studies Associate Dean Robert Oresick said.

“Last year we invited an actress and an expert on Dickens,” Oresick said. “She came and gave us a wonderful talk. This year, the social science department had a professor at Columbia University speak about themes from his book. He has written a lot about Muslim Colonialism in the world and his view of contemporary politics.”

When colleges attempt to recruit more well-known speakers, the decisions may become selective.

The College of Communication held its first Pulitzer Prize winner panel last fall. COM Alumni Officer Robert Grimes said the panel required extensive planning and was an idea since the fall of 2004.

“It was an unprecedented event of bringing people from all different facets of journalism back to talk about how COM has enhanced their lives,” he said, “and having people from magazines and daily newspapers share their common connection in journalism, but from different perspectives.”

COM Dean John Schulz said for the Pulitzer Prize panel, he aimed to honor distinguished alumni who have been given the prestigious award multiple times.

“I decided we ought to showcase and spotlight that fact to add to the reputation and luster of our journalism program,” he said in an email. “We have stellar, distinguished alumni, and we could have events similar to the Pulitzer Prize panel for other departments [in COM].”

COM junior Julia Snider was unable to attend the Pulitzer Prize panel talks, but said she has gone to multiple film events and screenings, hosted by COM, that sometimes involve talks with directors.

COM freshman Christina Cromeyer attended a talk with distinguished author and BU professor Elie Wiesel and a lecture hosted by SMG with Universal Studios Chief Financial Officer Frederick Huntsberry.

Snider and Cromeyer said the most useful ways to find out about these types of lectures and screenings is through BU Central’s posters and announcements and the COM email newsletter, which is sent to all COM students.

Many college administrators said although they are catering to their specific students’ education, it is important that lecturers and speakers appeal to all students at the university.

“Year by year, we find someone illuminating who fits the interest of our students and the other students in the university,” Oresick said.