2011-2012 UNIVERSITY SPEAKER SERIES
The Saint Leo University Speaker Series brings distinguished experts from a wide range of disciplines face-to-face with members of the university community. These influential doers and thinkers present relevant, provocative topics that generate discussion among students, faculty, alumni, and the surrounding community—dialogue that is central to the university's mission.
Noah Webster: The Forgotten Founding Father with biographer Joshua Kendall
Constitution Day Commemorative Program
7:00 p.m., September 15, 2011
Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardroom
Student Community Center
Our first speaker will shed new light on a historical figure we know for helping us with spelling and word definitions, but not for his part in the founding of the republic. Noah Webster is widely recognized today for establishing a standard American dictionary, but during his lifetime (1758-1843) he was also a vigorous advocate of independence from England. Webster supported the abolition of slavery and educational opportunities for women, as well. Writer Joshua Kendall brings this complex, influential figure to life in a new biography of Webster titled The Forgotten Founding Father, a work described as "lively and insightful" by The New York Times Book Review.
Joshua Kendall's visit to Saint Leo University was arranged for September in honor of Constitution Day. On that day in history— September 17, 1787—delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the groundbreaking document that established the role and duties of the federal government. Saint Leo University observes Constitution Day each year with special educational programming.
Author and Environmentalist Janisse Ray
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardroom
Student Community Center
Our mid-winter speaker grew up in rural southern Georgia, earned her bachelor's degree from Florida State University, and established herself as a leading environmental writer with the 1999 publication of a memoir, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. Since then, Janisse Ray has advocated for sustainability as an activist, an organizer, and as a writer and teacher. Her works include fiction and poetry, as well as literary nonfiction. In a passage from her book Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Land, the author and speaker describes a turning point in her life. "Life was good in my little hand-built cabin at the edge of a remnant Appalachian ravine, where in the pasture I grew persimmons and pears and tended a sprawling garden, and where I could live off the grid, free of consumer guilt. If I wanted to make a difference, however, if I wanted to inspire and educate others to honor wildness, I would have to venture forth into the world." The author's appearance in the speaker series coincides with a longer visit to Saint Leo through the Council of Independent Colleges Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows program.
Addiction and Sobriety with Sherry Gaba, LCSW
7:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardroom
Student Community Center
Sherry Gaba is a licensed, professional counselor in private practice, specializing in addictions of all types. Her 15 years of experience in helping people create sober, healthier lifestyles has made her a sought-after television guest on programs such as VH1's Celebrity Rehab, Dr. Drew Live, and Sober House. She writes and speaks frequently on an approach emphasizing ways that people can attract positive energy to aid their recovery from addictions. She contributes frequently to anthologies, newsletters, and blogs, and is the author of The Law of Sobriety: Attracting Positive Energy for a Powerful Recovery, released 2010 by HCI Books. She holds the Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California.
These events are free and open to the public.
Speakers are selected by the University Speaker Series Committee and the university president. The committee welcomes suggestions for future speakers. To recommend a speaker, please contact Fine Arts Events Director Allyson Marino at
allyson.marino@saintleo.edu or Dean Mary Spoto at
mary.spoto@saintleo.edu or fill out the
Speaker Recommendation Form online.
Recommendations for the 2012-2013 academic year must be submitted by January 15, 2012.