St. Louis Speakers Series Announces Lineup for 2017-2018 Season

As the St. Louis Speakers Series celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is preparing to welcome a stellar lineup of some of today’s most celebrated and influential personalities to take the stage at Powell Hall. Officially kicking off on Oct. 10, and presented by Maryville University, the 2017-2018 Series will offer seven evenings of thought-provoking discussion and lively entertainment, highlighted by a presentation featuring former President Bill Clinton. The complete list of presenters in order of appearance includes:

• Oct. 10, 2017 - David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2016)
• Oct. 24, 2017 – Jeffrey Toobin, Supreme Court expert and esteemed legal analyst
• Dec. 5, 2017 – Jane Pauley, television journalist and author
• Jan. 23, 2018 – Robin Wright, Middle East expert, award-winning journalist and author
• Feb. 20, 2018 – Rick Steves, author, television host and European travel guide
• March 20, 2018 – President Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States
• May 1, 2018 – Paul Nicklen, award-winning National Geographic photographer

Tickets for the 2017-2018 St. Louis Speakers Series are available now by visiting www.StLouisSpeakersSeries.org or by calling 314-534-1700. As in years past, the series is being sold by subscription, with subscribers guaranteed admission to hear all seven dynamic speakers. Subscriptions for the entire series range from $295 - $435. All presentations will begin at 8 p.m. and each is followed by a spirited Q&A period during which the speaker addresses questions from the audience.

“For the past two decades, Maryville University has been proud to bring a fascinating lineup of speakers to St. Louis for each season of the St. Louis Speakers Series, and this upcoming season is no exception,” said Dr. Mark Lombardi, president of Maryville University. “The lineup truly represents a unique opportunity to be enlightened, challenged and entertained by some of the world’s most celebrated personalities.”

The 2017-2018 series will get underway with a presentation by David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As the youngest British Prime Minister in two centuries, Cameron led a transformation of the U.K.’s economy through his work to remodel the Conservative Party with a modern, compassionate agenda. In 2016, Cameron resigned following the U.K. vote to leave the European Union.

On Oct. 24, Jeffrey Toobin will grace the stage at Powell Hall. Best known for his books, The Oath and The Nine, which chronicled the inner workings of the Supreme Court, Toobin began his career clerking for a federal judge and later served as an associate counsel to Lawrence Walsh during the Iran-Contra affair and Oliver North’s criminal trial. He has since provided legal analyses on high-profile cases for CNN and The New Yorker. His book on the O.J. Simpson murder case was adapted as a television series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and aired in 2016 as the first season of FX’s American Crime Story, winning numerous Emmy awards.

In December, the St. Louis Speakers Series will welcome television journalist and author Jane Pauley. Pauley is currently the anchor of CBS Sunday Morning. She is best known for her 13-year tenure on NBC’s Today, followed by 12 years as co-host of Dateline NBC. Her bestselling memoir, Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue, made public her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Pauley also penned a second book titled Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life.

The Speakers Series will continue in January 2018 with a presentation by Robin Wright. As a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International School for Scholars, Wright has received numerous awards for her reporting for The New Yorker and other publications. She is also the author of many books on the Middle East. The most recent, titled Rock the Casbah, was named the best book on international affairs by the Overseas Press Club.

Rick Steves will take to the Speakers Series stage in February 2018. In addition to authoring numerous European travel guides, Steves is the host of the public television series Rick Steves’ Europe and a public radio show called Travel with Rick Steves. He advocates for independent travel, encouraging Americans to become “temporary locals” by visiting cozy villages away from popular tourist routes, in addition to seeing major cities.

On March 20, 2018, St. Louis Speakers Series attendees will appreciate the highlight of the season as they hear from former President Bill Clinton. Under Clinton’s leadership as the 42nd President of the United States, the nation enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history, which featured the creation of more than 22 million jobs.

The 2017-2018 St. Louis Speakers Series will conclude in May 2018 with a presentation by Paul Nicklen. An award-winning National Geographic photographer, Nicklen uses his camera to reveal the nature of the changing polar regions due to climate change. His work also includes serving as an interpreter and translator of scientific information about environmental challenges.

Presented by Maryville University, the St. Louis Speakers Series is sponsored by PNC Bank, Nine Network of Public Media, St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Polsinelli. Individual speakers are sponsored by the Elizabeth L. Green Charitable Foundation, Emerson, the St. Louis Cardinals, MonetaGroup and Ladue News.

For more information about the 2017-2018 St. Louis Speakers Series, visit www.StLouisSpeakersSeries.org.

About Maryville University
Founded in 1872, Maryville University is a comprehensive and nationally ranked private institution with more than 6,800 students. Maryville offers more than 90 degrees at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels to students from 50 states and 55 countries.