SARASOTA, FL – Individual and limited tickets will be available beginning Monday, January 8, 2018, for the Ringling College Library Association (RCLA) Town Hall Lecture Series morning and evening lectures.
The speakers appearing for the 38th annual lecture series represent a diverse group of leaders with a broad knowledge base about the relevant issues in the world today.
Tickets prices are tiered based on seating: Gold $100, Silver $80, Bronze $70 and will be available on a first come first serve basis. All morning lectures are scheduled for 10:30am. The evening lectures begin at 7:30 p.m.
On Monday, January 22, John Brennan will open the 2018 Town Hall series with his perspective on the role of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as director from 2013 to 2017, Brennan managed intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. Before becoming director, he served at the White House for four years as assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
Next in the series is a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham on Monday, February 12. His latest Presidential biography, “Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George H. W. Bush,” debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list in 2015. Other best-sellers include “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” and “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.” Meacham is currently a contributor to Time and The New York Times Book Review, and a regular guest on “Morning Joe” telling stories about politics and current affairs.
Financial journalist and New York Times best-selling author Michael Lewis will appear on the Town Hall stage on Monday, March 5. Lewis has published sixteen books including popular releases Moneyball, The Big Short and The Blind Side on subjects ranging from sports, politics and Wall Street.
Cancer physician, researcher and author Siddhartha Mukherjee will be the fourth speaker on Monday, March 19. Ten years in the making, his first book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer tells the story of this formidable disease that has plagued humanity for thousands of years. Mukherjee now is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a cancer physician at the CU/NYU Presbyterian Hospital.
The series concludes on Monday, April 9, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, will talk about the national non-profit organization she founded working to close the gender gap in technology.
The new Alfred R. Goldstein Library on the Ringling College of Art + Design campus is the culmination of a multi-year fundraising campaign by RCLA, led by co-chairs Isabel Norton and Carolyn Johnson. RCLA is the largest cumulative donor to Ringling College with an $11.5 million commitment, including $3.9 million donated to the library.
All Town Hall lectures will be presented at Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, 777 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.
To purchase individual tickets for Town Hall lectures beginning January 8, call 941-309-5100 or visit www.rclassociation.org