August 16, 2005
Harding University announces 2005-06 Distinguished Lecture Series
SEARCY - Noted educator Cheri Pierson Yecke begins the 2005-06 American Studies Institute's Distinguished Lecture Series Sept. 8 at Harding University.Yecke is an author, researcher and presenter whose works have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country. As the distinguished senior fellow for education and social policy at the Center of the American Experiment, she has authored numerous commentaries and three major studies on education and contemporary social issues.
In Virginia, Yecke served on the State Board of Education, as deputy secretary of education and as secretary of education. She has also served as director of teacher quality and public school choice at the U.S. Department of Education and commissioner of education for Minnesota.
Also speaking in September is Gracia Burnham, a missionary who spent more than a year held captive by a rebel group in the Philippines. She will tell her story Sept. 20.
For 17 years, Gracia Burnham supported her husband, Martin, in the Philippines, where he served with New Tribes Mission as a pilot. In 2001, rebels seized the Burnhams and several other guests at a resort off Palawan Island and took them as hostages. After 376 days of captivity, Martin was killed in a firefight between the Philippine military and the rebel group. Gracia was wounded but freed.
She is the author of In the Presence of My Enemies, which gives a gripping account of the couple's year of terror in the Philippine jungle. In her second book, To Fly Again, Gracia reflects on the lessons and spiritual truths learned while in the jungle.
Scott Waddle, the Nov. 3 speaker, graduated at the top of his class at Annapolis. Years later he was handpicked to command a Los Angeles class fast-attack nuclear submarine, the USS Greeneville. When it collided with a Japanese fishing boat in February 2001, the story made international headlines.
Against the advice of his lawyer and against the direction of the Navy, Waddle followed his conscience. Instead of denying or making excuses, Waddle took complete responsibility for his actions. His deep remorse compelled him to offer a sincere apology to the victims' families. Waddle's pursuit of integrity provides an inspiring challenge to anyone facing difficult choices in life.
Two outspoken political pundits and New York Times best-selling authors conclude the series. Ann Coulter, a lawyer and author of High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, and Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, will speak March 23.
The legal correspondent for Human Events and author of a popular column for Universal Press Syndicate, Coulter is a frequent guest on such TV shows as "Larry King Live," "Hannity and Colmes," and "Good Morning America."
Coulter worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee, then became a litigator with the Center for Individual Rights in Washington, D.C., a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual rights.
Zell Miller, the only person ever to have been the keynote speaker in both the Republican and Democratic national conventions, brings the series to a close April 27. He began his career in public service in 1959 with a term as mayor of Young Harris, Ga. He went on to serve in the state senate and as lieutenant governor, governor and U.S. senator.
The Los Angeles Times called Miller's HOPE Scholarship Program "the most far-reaching scholarship program in the nation." His prekindergarten program won an award for innovation from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
He has written six books, including the New York Times best seller, A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat. Miller now serves as a contributor on Fox News.
All presentations begin at 7:30 p.m. in Benson Auditorium. Tickets are not required, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Yecke's presentation is co-sponsored by the College of Education, Burnham's by the Center for World Missions, Waddle's by the College of Business Administration, and Coulter's and Miller's by the Young America's Foundation.
