Track star Aimee Mullins, the only athlete with dual prostheses
to run track on any NCAA Division I team, will speak at
Penn State Altoona on Nov. 10.
A millennium expert and an extraordinary athlete highlight this year's Distinguished Speaker Series at Penn State Altoona.
Beginning on Sept. 28 and running through March 2000, Penn State Altoona will present five speakers whose diverse backgrounds and talents promise to provide entertaining subject matter and a unique glimpse into the world around us.
All programs will be presented in the Adler Athletic Complex. The schedule follows:
n Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. -- Author James Reston Jr. will discuss how the upcoming millennium celebration compares with that of 1,000 years ago. Reston will discuss his book, The Last Apocalypse: Europe at the Year 1000 AD.
n Oct. 23, 8 p.m. -- The comedy group Capitol Steps will perform as part of Parent's and Family's Weekend. Capitol Steps is a troupe of current and former Congressional staffers who monitor events and personalities on Capitol Hill, in the Oval Office and in other centers of power and prestige around the world and then take a humorous look at serious issues.
n Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. -- With two unofficial world records to her credit, track star Aimee Mullins insists she's just like everybody else, but a closer look reveals an athlete with tremendous heart and ability. Mullins, born without fibulas, runs with the help of two prostheses that extend her legs from about six inches below the knee. Besides running in the Orthotics and Prosthetics National Summer Games and the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta, Mullins is the only athlete with dual prostheses to run track on any NCAA Division I team, as a member of Georgetown University's track team.
n Jan. 16, 2000, 3:30 p.m. -- After 10 years as a member of the U.S. Congress, Kweisi Mfume stepped down to assume the presidency of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He'll discuss that decision and his five-point action agenda, said to have given the NAACP a clear and compelling blueprint for the 21st century. This is a part of Penn State Altoona's annual MLK Celebration.
n March 1, 2000, 7:30 p.m. -- As an outspoken advocate of sex education in schools, Joycelyn Elders often was the center of controversy during her tenure as Surgeon General of the United States. Elders, the first African American and first woman to serve as Surgeon General, will present her views on this and other issues.
The Distinguished Speaker Series is free to the public. Tickets are available at the Penn State Altoona Bookstore from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.