This honor is awarded annually to an individual who is distinguished as both a researcher and educator and has demonstrated his or her ability to give engaging oral presentations. The Distinguished Lecturer visits approximately 12 institutions and gives at least one talk from two lecture topics. The Distinguished Lecturer proposes the two topics, and each institution chooses one of these as the formal presentation. All travel expenses for the Distinguished Lecturer are paid for by AEESP, and visited institutions must contribute a fixed fee of $1,000 to help support these costs. Host institutions may arrange for presentation of both lectures, but in such cases, any additional housing and boarding costs must be borne directly by the host institution. The Distinguished Lecturer receives a $1,000 honorarium at the conclusion of their lecture tour.

Selection of the speaker is made by the Distinguished Lecturer Committee. Suggestions for choice of Distinguished Lecturer may be sent to the chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Committee at any time, but with the understanding that final selection is entirely in the hands of the committee and that this committee may already have qualified nominees in mind from suggestions made in previous years. The Distinguished Lecturer Committee usually makes it decision for the coming academic year by January or February.