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Amid big buzz, DePauw preparing for Malala's Sept. 4 Ubben Lecture
With immense outside interest in the event being reported, DePauw University is preparing for its Sept. 4 Ubben Lecture by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai.
The program, which is free and open to all, begins at 7:30 p.m. No tickets will be required. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Doors at DePauw University's Lilly Center (702 S. College Ave.) will open to students with valid DePauw IDs at 5:45 p.m. All other guests -- alumni, faculty, staff and the general public -- can enter Neal Fieldhouse beginning at 6 p.m.
Malala, a Pakistani schoolgirl whose bravery and activism for female education made her the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was shot and critically injured by the Taliban as a 15-year-old in 2012 while traveling home from school on the bus with her friends.
"We are expecting a very large crowd and hope to have as many as 5,000 seats available," noted Ken Owen, special adviser to the DPU president and coordinator of the Ubben Lecture Series.
"Malala's visit may have the most pre-event 'buzz' of any Ubben Lecture in the 30-year history of the series," Owen added, "and, if phone calls are any indication, visitors from several states away will be making the trip to Greencastle. I encourage people to get to the venue early to ensure they're able to be part of this very special day."
If needed, overflow seating will be available across the street in Green Center for the Performing Arts' Kresge Auditorium, where the program will be shown via a closed-circuit video transmission.
Malala's lecture will include a portion during which questions which have been previously submitted will be presented to the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner and U.N. Messenger of Peace. Persons who have something they would like to ask Malala can send queries to ubbenquestions@depauw.edu.
Student journalists from each of DePauw's three media outlets will choose and ask the questions at the program.
Attendees should be prepared for security checks. Bags, backpacks, cameras, signs, key chains with mace or pepper spray attachments, and weapons will not be permitted in the Lilly Center. Photography and video/audio recording by members of the audience will be prohibited.
DePauw first announced Yousafzai's visit in June.
The Ubben Series was established in 1986 through an endowment established by 1958 DePauw graduates Timothy and Sharon (Williams) Ubben. The programs are fully underwritten by the Ubben Fund.
Guests of the Ubben Lecture Series have included Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Leslie Odom Jr., Jane Goodall, Andrew Luck, Jesse Jackson, Tony Blair, Jimmy Kimmel, Spike Lee and Gen. Colin Powell.
Malala Yousafzai will become the 10th Nobel laureate and eighth winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to be welcomed to DePauw as an Ubben Lecturer. Previous visitors included Leymah Gbowee, Oscar Arias, F.W. de Klerk, Mikhail Gorbachev, Shimon Peres, Willy Brandt, Elie Wiesel, Leon Lederman and Ferid Murad, a 1958 DePauw graduate.