Ringling College Library Association Announces 2021 Town Hall Speakers
Investigative reporter Ronan Farrow speaks in the Town Hall series Feb. 15.
The Ringling College Library Association has announced its lineup for its 2021 Town Hall Lecture Series, which begins in January.
The 2021 series commences with former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, on Monday, Jan. 18. Christie briefly ran for President in 2016 and joined ABC News as a network contributor in 2018. His book, Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics, was published in 2019.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, speaking here Jan. 18.
Christie will be followed by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy, on Monday, Feb. 1. Dungy will speak about his career as a coach, broadcaster and mentor; in 2007, he became the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl and has been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Former NFL coach Tony Dungy, appearing Feb. 1.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ronan Farrow, whose investigative journalism for The New Yorker helped to spark Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse scandal and the #MeToo movement, will speak Monday, Feb. 15. The son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen, Farrow also wrote the 2019 book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, recounting his experiences reporting the Weinstein abuses.
Karen Gordon Mills, former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and currently a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School focusing on U.S. competitiveness, entrepreneurship and innovation, is next up, appearing Monday, March 1, on the stage.
And wrapping up the series on Monday, March 15, will be Canadian photographer, filmmaker and marine biologist Paul Nicklen, who will talk about his 25-year career documenting the planet’s natural beauty. An assignment photographer for National Geographic, Nicklen grew up among the Inuit communities of Canada’s Arctic and is the co-founder of SeaLegacy, which raises awareness of ocean conservation through visual storytelling.
These five lectures will be presented at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, with morning lectures at 10:30 a.m. and evening talks at 7:30 p.m. Call (941) 309-5100 to become an RCLA member and subscribe; or go online at www.rclassociation.org.
In addition to these five talks, two rescheduled dates from the 2020 series (postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic) will take place, with Town Hall welcoming neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova, Nov. 9, and photographer Annie Leibovitz, Nov. 23.
