Honors College
University Forum Speaker Schedule
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Since 1974, University Forum has brought hundreds of respected and innovative speakers to Southern Miss. In 2024, University Forum is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of this extraordinary Southern Miss tradition with an incredible slate of speakers and, of course, cake. (Our anniversary celebration will take place on October 8th!)
Registration is not required and all Forum events are free and open to the public. We are happy, however, to send you a reminder email (that will include an easy-to-use link to attend virtually).
All fall 2024 Forum events will be held in person at Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg Campus. Most Forum events are also available through a livestream broadcast. Links to live events will be posted below the speaker’s bio on the day of the event. (Live streams of Forum events are offered as a courtesy; unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the quality of the live stream and cannot take questions from the online audience. If you are a student and your instructor requires proof of attendance, you must attend the in-person event to have your attendance recorded.)
If you require a sign language translator or any other accessibility accommodations, please contact University Forum at forumFREEMississippi at your earliest convenience.
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Fall 2024 Speaker Schedule
Ed Yong
September 17, 2024
6:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Yong explores complex scientific concepts in accessible ways. A former staff writer at The Atlantic, Yong’s 2016 book I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life and his 2022 book An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us were both New York Times bestsellers and An Immense World won the Andrew Carnegie Medal. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies named him “the most important and impactful journalist” of 2020 for his writing on the coronavirus. At Forum, Yong will speak about the “unique sensory bubble” that all animals live in and how humans perceive “but a tiny sliver of an immense world.”
Kathleen Koch
50th Anniversary Event
October 8, 2024
6:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
A Mississippi native and graduate of the Honors College at Southern Miss, Kathleen Koch covered the White House, Capitol Hill, and Pentagon as well as almost every disaster imaginable during her 18 years as a correspondent at CNN. She is the author of Rising from Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered and her two documentaries on Bay St. Louis’s recovery earned her a Peabody Award. In 2018, she was named to the Southern Miss Alumni Hall of Fame and she currently serves on the USM School of Mass Communications and Journalism Advisory Board. At Forum, Koch will speak about her experiences as a journalist and the importance of persistence and listening to your inner voice in making a meaningful difference in the world.
| 11-8-24 Update: Unfortunately, Erin Brockovich will not able to speak at the November 12 University Forum. However, we are overjoyed to announce that Dr. Jessica B. Harris, a renowned food scholar, will be speaking at Forum. |
Jessica B. Harris
November 12, 2024
6:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
Dr. Jessica B. Harris is one of the leading authorities on the culture and cuisine of the African Diaspora. She is featured in the Netflix series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. The series, based on her 2011 award-winning book, traces the roots of Black culinary traditions from their African origins through the history of slavery to their transformative influence on American cuisine today.
Harris was an editor at Essence and is a professor emeritus from Queens College, City University of New York. She is the author of twelve books. She has been honored with lifetime achievement awards from the James Beard Foundation and the Southern Foodways Alliance, and her books were inducted into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame. Harris is the recipient of the 2023 IACP Award for Culinary History and in 2021 she was named to the Time100, the magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in the world.
Spring 2025 Speaker Schedule
Ada Limón
February 11, 2025
6:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
Ada Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States and the first Latina to be named Poet Laureate. Her poems explore themes of identity, nature, and the human experience. Born in 1976 in Sonoma, California, Limón grew up in a rural setting, and her work has been praised for its lyrical beauty, emotional depth, and keen observations of the natural world. She has published several poetry collections, including Bright Dead Things, a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is a highly respected teacher and has taught poetry at various universities and writing programs. University Forum is proud to partner with The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers to bring Ada Limon to Southern Miss to talk about the role of poetry in our lives.
Armstrong-Branch Lecture Series
March 18, 2025
6:30 p.m.
Thad Cochran Center Ballrooms
Now in its third decade, the Armstrong-Branch Lecture Series is named for Gwendolyn Armstrong-Chamberlain and Raylawni Adams Branch, the first Black students to enroll at The University of Southern Mississippi.
Founded in 1994, this historic lecture series was initially supported and modeled after University Forum. Now it is sponsored by the Dean of Students Office; however, during University Forum’s anniversary year, we are proud to be collaborating once again. The speaker will be announced in November 2024.
Lachi
April 8, 2025
6:30 p.m.
Mannoni Performing Arts Center
Lachi, known for her soulful voice and empowering lyrics, gained global recognition for her distinctive blend of pop and dance music. Twice nominated for an Independent Music Award, she has collaborated on projects with Kendra Black, Snoop Dogg, and Cardi B. Her career as a musician has been influenced by, but never defined by, her visual impairment, but in recent years she has become an influential advocate for disability rights. The self-described “loud and proud” singer is the founder of RAMPD, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities, and has spoken and performed at the White House and the United Nations. In 2024, Lachi was named one of USA Today’s Women of the Year, and in 2025 she will release her first book, I Identify as Blind. At Forum, Lachi will perform some of her hit works and discuss disability rights.