Historian, author and CBS News commentator Douglas Brinkley will speak at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on Thursday evening for the seventh annual Cal State Long Beach Distinguished Speaker Series.
The lecture, titled “The Evolution of the American Presidency,” begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion and book signing, according to the CSULB website.
Art Levine, founder and director of CSULB’s Distinguished Speaker Series, said he is excited that Brinkley is speaking on campus.
“We try each year to bring to campus someone who has something important to say,” Levine said. “In this political year, I think Brinkley would be the perfect distinguished speaker to speak on [the] evolution of the American presidency [and the] challenges faced against President Obama.”
Levine said that students who have attended previous Distinguished Speakers Series events have expressed overall enjoyment.
“Our surveys from past years indicate that students would not come if [their] teacher had not assigned it,” he said. “[But] they are glad that they did come after they hear the speaker.”
Levine said students with a valid ID card can purchase tickets from the Carpenter Performing Arts Center box office for $20. A barbecue event will be held before the presentation at 6 p.m. Student barbecue tickets are $10.