Founders Day Feb. 15 to Open Year-Long 150th Celebration

Date: 1/18/07
Contact: Marc Lebovitz

Only 28 days remain before the beginning of the biggest celebration in Illinois State University history. Founders Day, Feb. 15, marks the beginning of a year-long celebration of the University's 150th year. The sesquicentennial year will highlight Illinois State's history as the first public institution of higher learning in the state and include visits by internationally-known historians and pioneers in filmmaking, undersea exploration, music and education.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer David McCullough will be the keynote speaker at the Founders Day Convocation. McCullough, who will speak on "Leadership and the History You Don't Know" at 1 p.m. in Braden Auditorium, has written biographies of presidents John Adams and Harry S. Truman. His most recent book, "1776," has been characterized as brilliant and powerful.

Founders Day will begin with the traditional ringing of the Old Main Bell (150 times) at 10 a.m., during which the new university song will have its debut. The new song will be added to the University repertoire of music and will be sung at special University events.

David McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher and lecturer in addition to award-winning author. His novels have been praised for detailing the individual character and understanding of American life. His biography of John Adams is one of the most widely read biographies of all time. None of his books has ever been out of print.

To signify his work, McCullough has been honored by the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal and the New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award, among others.

Founders Day and McCullough's address also will serve as the kickoff for the Illinois State Historical Society's 27th annual Illinois History Symposium, on the theme, "Knowledge on the Prairie." The 108-year-old organization is holding its symposium at Illinois State from Feb. 15 to 17 in honor of the university's sesquicentennial.

That weekend will close on Sunday with the 3 p.m. President's Concert in the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall and the premiere performance by the ISU Wind Symphony of a newly commissioned work by composer David Maslanka in celebration of Illinois State's 150th anniversary.

Other major speakers during the 150th year celebration, all free and open to the public, will be:

March 28 - author and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaking on "Our Environmental Destiny"

April 17 - renowned underwater explorer Robert Ballard speaking about the wreck of the Titanic and other deep sea discoveries in "Exploring the Living Dream"

Sept. 18 - Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin speaking on "Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln"

Nov. 1 - documentary filmmaker Ken Burns

Nov. 18 - country music superstar and liver disease survivor Naomi Judd speaking about hope perseverance, "Love Can Build a Bridge"

Nov. 14 - author and education activist Jonathon Kozol speaking on "Hearts of Children and the Obligation of Our Nation's Schools"

Founders Day in 2008 will officially close the 150th celebration. Other information on the 150th celebration is available at www.ilstu.edu/home/anniversary/