This is Auburn Speaker Series set for Fridays on home football weekends

Auburn University is continuing its tradition of offering lectures by distinguished speakers on the Fridays before home football games. The sixth annual This is Auburn Speaker Series features presentations and discussion of topics that make Auburn a vibrant and engaging university.

Talks will take place at 3 p.m. at the Auburn Alumni Center located at 317 S. College St., in the Goodwin Room.

"This speaker series has become an anticipated part of game week among the Auburn community and the fans visiting each weekend," said Mike Clardy, assistant vice president for Communications and Marketing. "This year’s speakers cover a lot of territory with regard to their areas of expertise, many in positions of leadership and authority. We are looking forward to hearing them present their stories."

Jan Davis ’77, a former NASA astronaut, will speak Sept. 15 on "An Auburn Astronaut: My Journey into Space." Her talk is presented in conjunction with Auburn University Libraries’ Discover Auburn Women of Distinction, a lecture series celebrating 125 Years of Auburn Women.

Other speakers in the This is Auburn Speaker Series include Glenn Loughridge ’94, director of Campus Dining at Auburn University; retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin ’86, Auburn University trustee and retired commander of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Army; Mike Jernigan ’80, ’86, editor emeritus of "Auburn Magazine" and author of "Auburn Man: The Life and Times of George Petrie"; and Christopher Heacox, executive director of the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University.

The complete schedule is:

• Sept. 15: Jan Davis ’77, former NASA astronaut, presenting “An Auburn Astronaut: My Journey into Space.” Game: Mercer, Sept. 15 (Homecoming)

• Sept. 29: Glenn Loughridge ’94, director of Campus Dining at Auburn University, presenting “Getting Back to our Roots: The Story of Auburn Foods.” Game: Mississippi State, Sept. 30

• Oct. 6: Retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin ’86, Auburn University trustee and retired commander of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Army, presenting “Reflections on Leadership.” Game: Ole Miss, Oct. 7

• Nov. 10: Mike Jernigan ’80, ’86, editor emeritus of “Auburn Magazine” and author of “Auburn Man: The Life and Times of George Petrie,” presenting “George Petrie and the Auburn Creed.” Game: Georgia, Nov. 11

• Nov. 17: Christopher Heacox, executive director of the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University, presenting “The Future of the Performing Arts at Auburn University.” Game: University of Louisiana at Monroe, Nov. 18

Cornel West, professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard Divinity School, and Robert P. George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, kicked off the series Sept. 1 with a dialogue about “Ideological Differences and Free Speech on Campus.” The event was held in conjunction with Auburn’s “Critical Conversations” Speaker Series.

The series is sponsored by the Auburn Alumni Association, Auburn Athletics, Office of Communications and Marketing and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Auburn, or OLLI at Auburn. More information is available on the This is Auburn Speaker Series website at http://www.auburn.edu/thisisauburnspeakerseries.