Southeast Speakers Series lineup set

It's always interesting to see who will be making the trek to Cape Girardeau to share their experiences, stories and wisdom as part of Southeast Missouri State University's Speakers Series.

A few weeks ago, the lineup for this school year's speakers was released.

John O'Leary, a burn survivor, kicked things off with his "Live Inspired" presentation at the university's new student-welcome convocation. Emmy-winning journalist Byron Pitts is the first available to the public, speaking Sept. 12 in the Academic Hall Auditorium. And Mandalit del Barco, an arts correspondent based at NPR West, will give her presentation on Oct. 10 in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

A week later Southeast will host a slightly different event with Van Jones, a civil-rights leader, former Obama White House adviser, CNN contributor and founder and president of Dream Corps, and Kayleigh McEnany, a conservative pundit and CNN political commentator, holding a Political Contributor's Point/Counterpoint Debate in the Show Me Center ahead of the November election.

NASA astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly will be here Nov. 30 to present "The Sky is Not the Limit: Lessons From a Year in Space."

Dr. Mary Berry, who served as chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during four presidential administrations and was the first woman to lead a major research university, will be the keynote speaker at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner on Jan. 18.

Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson concludes the series on Feb. 6.

The O'Leary, Pitts and del Barco events are free to all. Tickets for the remaining events are available for $10 at showmecenter.biz and the Show Me Center box office. More information is available at semo.edu/speakers.