The McFarlin Auditorium has hosted a variety of prominent speakers and performers over the year. They've included pop singers, scholars, economists, politicians, and more. Below are some of the past performers McFarlin has featured.
- Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
- Acoustic Africa
- AEROS Dance Company
- Madeleine K. Albright
- Steve Allen
- American Ballet Theatre
- Laurie Anderson
- Marian Anderson
- Aspen Santa Fe Dance Company
- W.H. Auden
- BJM Danse
- Christian Barnard
- Mikhail Baryshnikov
- Former Prime Minister Tony Blair
- Blondie
- Tom Brokaw
- David Brinkley
- Dave Brubeck
- Marcus Buckingham
- William F. Buckley
- George Bush
- Jose Carreras
- Hodding Carter
- Bennet Cerf
- St. Paul Chamber Orch.
- Gen. Claire Chennault
- Maurice Chevalier
- Robert Shaw Chorale
- Cincinnati Symphony
- Charles Collingwood
- Alistair Cooke
- Anderson Cooper
- Harry Connick, Jr.
- Sheryl Crow
- Salvador Dali
- Pilobolus Dance
- Moshe Dayan
- Dashboard Confessional
- David Parsons Dance
- Angela Davis
- Diavolo Dance Company
- Elizabeth Dole
- Doug Varone Dance Company
- Kodo Drummers
- East Village Opera Company
- Abba Eban
- Nelson Eddy
- Elliot Feld Ballet
- Melissa Etheridge
- Evanescence
- Eileen Farrell
- Kirsten Flagstad
- Frederick Fennell
- Fleetwood Mac
- Joan Fontaine
- Gerald R. Ford
- William Fulbright
- David Gergen
- Phillip Glass
- Jane Goodall
- Martha Graham
- Sir John Gielgud
- Lilian Gish
- Savion Glover
- Cary Grant
- Lionel Hampton
- Sean Hannity
- Helen Hayes
- Imogen Heap
- Charlton Heston
- Lorin Hollander
- Hal Holbrook
- Cherry Holmes
- Marilyn Horne
- Bob Hope
- Vladimir Horowitz
- Houston Ballet
- Hubbard St. Dance
- Burl Ives
- Byron Janis
- Mae Jemison
- Elton John
- Angelique Kidjo
- Martin Luther King
- Henry Kissinger
- Kronos Quartet
- Elsa Lanchester
- Charles Laughton
- Lotte Lehmann
- Jim Lehrer
- Annie Lennox
- Sinclair Lewis
- Patti Lupone
- Yo-Yo Ma
- Robert MacNeil
- Barry Manilow
- Mariza
- Rollo May
- Yehudi Menuhin
- MOMIX
- Monterrey Jazz Festival
- Marcel Marceau
- Motion City Soundtrack
- Azar Nafisi
- Ogden Nash
- Peter Nero
- Edwin Newman
- Birgit Nielson
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Paul Taylor Dance
- Gregory Peck
- Itzhak Perlman
- Roberta Peters
- Pittsburg Symphony
- Colin Powell
- Vincent Price
- Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Diane Reeves
- Ann Richard
- Will Rogers
- Royal Winnipeg Ballet
- Arthur Rubinstein
- Carl Sagan
- Jonas Salk
- Carl Sandburg
- Daniel Schorr
- Andres Segovia
- Ravi Shankar
- Martin Sheen
- Beverly Sills
- Rudolf Serkin
- Janos Starker
- Steve Miller Band
- "So You Think You Can Dance" Auditions Featuring: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Adam Shankman
- Sir George Solti
- St. Louis Symphony
- Leslie Stahl
- Isaac Stem
- Joan Sutherland
- Twyla Tharp
- Margaret Thatcher
- James Taylor
- Tool
- Margaret Truman
- Barbara Walters
- Shaolin Warriors
- Caspar Weinberger
- Orson Welles
- Simon Wiesenthal
- Meredith Wilson
- Bob & Lee Woodruff
- Efrem Zimbalist
- Pinchas Zukerman
- Meatloaf