VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY

East Carolina University’s Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences is poised to launch the 12th season of its signature Voyages of Discovery Series. This year’s lineup spans an exceptionally broad range of topics, including headline-grabbing social movements, North Carolina’s enduring fascination with pirates and piracy, unsolved criminal cases and mysteries of the dinosaurs’ extinction.

“We embark on another exciting year of the Voyages of Discovery Series,” said Dr. William M. Downs, dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. “The 2018-2019 slate of speakers is powerful and engaging, and I believe the audiences that fill Wright Auditorium will be impressed and inspired by the messages our guests bring to campus.”

Chancellor Cecil Staton continues his enthusiastic support of the series, which is recognized as the premier intellectual event for students, faculty and citizens of eastern North Carolina.

Later this month, Staton and his wife Catherine will host a kickoff reception at their home, celebrating the Voyages of Discovery Series, its donors and the THCAS Dean’s Advancement Council, which provided the initial funding to establish the series in 2007.

“It means so much to us to have Chancellor Staton take a prominent role in promoting this ECU asset,” Downs said. “With his leadership, we can introduce this great lecture series to an even broader array of friends and university constituents, and in doing so we will be that much better positioned to ensure its future.”

The series opens on Sept. 20 with the Premier Lecture featuring Anita Hill. Hill, now a professor at Brandeis University and an attorney, captured the nation’s attention in 1991 when she famously accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his confirmation hearings.

“Given the recent resurgence of high-profile cases of impropriety, Hill’s talk – ‘Social Movement to Social Impact: Putting an End to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace’ – is both important and timely,” Downs said.

On Oct. 25, ECU will welcome Angus Konstam, author, historian and world-renowned expert on pirates, who will present “Blackbeard at 300: New Findings on North Carolina’s Most (In)famous Pirate.” Traveling from Scotland to Greenville to participate in the Voyages series, Konstam’s visit coincides with the 300th anniversary of Blackbeard’s death.

Two events will follow in the spring. On Feb. 21, the series will feature Clinton Van Zandt. Van Zandt, a former FBI profiler and hostage negotiator who led the internationally respected Behavioral Science or “Silence of the Lambs” Unit, will engage his audience with “Psychological Profiling: Solving Famous Unsolved Cases.”

Van Zandt’s career is notable for his participation in negotiations with Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, his profiling of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and his investigation to identify the “Unabomber.”

Rounding out the season on April 4, Dr. Lisa Randall, acclaimed Harvard physicist, author and one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People,” will present “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs.” Randall will guide her audience through some of the big questions of the universe, and she will showcase the role of science in solving great puzzles such as the extinction of the dinosaurs.

“The Voyages Series celebrates the spirit of exploration and learning by making available to the ECU campus, and our neighbors in this region, experts who stimulate our thinking and create a better world. You can see, then, why I’m thrilled about our speakers this year,” said Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, director of the series.

Individual and season tickets are available through the ECU Central Ticket Office by calling 1-800-ECU-ARTS (1-800-328-2787) or by visiting www.ecu.edu/voyages/tickets.cfm. Individuals requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should call 252-737-1016 (voice/TTY) at least 48 hours prior to the event.

Each Voyages event will be classified as a Wellness Passport Event and is free for ECU students. Tickets are required. To receive a free ticket, ECU students must go to the ECU Central Ticket Office, located in Mendenhall Student Center, and present his/her 1 Card.

The series is made possible through contributions from Harriot College’s Dean’s Advancement Council, university organizations and many friends and supporters. For more information, or to contribute, visit www.ecu.edu/voyages.