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Embry-Riddle President’s Speaker Series to Be a Forum for Voters

Daytona Beach, Fla, January 5, 2010

To help cultivate a more informed electorate, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will offer “The President’s Speaker Series,” a series of town hall forums about topics in the public interest in 2010. The events will take place on Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus.

The series begins Jan. 20 with “Higher Education in the New Economy,” a panel discussion by representatives from five area colleges. Panelists will include Trudie Kibbe Reed, president of Bethune-Cookman University; Kent Sharples, president of Daytona State College; John P. Johnson, president of Embry-Riddle; Stuart Michelson, dean of the School of Business at Stetson University; and David T. Harrison, provost of the University of Central Florida.

“For many of our students, the first opportunity to vote comes in their first two years in college,” said Johnson, Embry-Riddle’s president. “We consider it our responsibility to give them a well-rounded understanding of issues in our changing society, because we are preparing them to be leaders.”

Although the 90-minute forums are designed to engage Embry-Riddle students, faculty, and staff on issues of public policy, they are also free and open to the general public. Speakers will cover topics such as education, foreign policy, law, medicine, money, and politics. The forums will be moderated by Marc Bernier, a special assistant to the president at Embry-Riddle.

All events are scheduled to run 5:30-7 p.m.

Forums:

Jan. 20
“Higher Education in the New Economy” (location: College of Aviation atrium)

Jan. 27
Former U.S. Sen. (N.H.) Bob Smith (Gale Lemerand Auditorium, Willie Miller Instructional Center)

Feb. 16
Washington columnists Helen Thomas and Craig Crawford (College of Aviation atrium)

March 8
Wall Street Journal/Fox News analyst John Fund (Gale Lemerand Auditorium, Willie Miller Instructional Center)

The President’s Speaker Series events will be broadcast live on 1150AM WNDB and streamed live on www.wndb.am. Other dates and guests will be announced later.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.