Note: Students, faculty and staff receive free tickets with a valid MSU Campus Card. Tickets for faculty, staff, and the general public can be obtained at the Clark Student Center Information Desk two weeks prior to each event. Students may obtain tickets three weeks prior to an event.

For tickets call (940) 397-4291

Season tickets:
$75 for general public
$65 for senior citizens, active-duty military, and MSU alumni

Individual event tickets:
$20.00 for general public
$18.00 for senior citizens, active-duty military, and MSU alumi

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VALERIE PLAME WILSON

September 15, 2011 – 7 p.m. – Akin Auditorium

While serving her country as a CIA clandestine operations officer, Valerie Plame Wilson kept her occupation and her identity a secret from all but a very few close family members. When her covert status was revealed by senior White House and State Department officials to several national journalists, one of whom published her name, it set off a firestorm still raging today. The leak triggered a federal investigation into the highest levels of government, the jailing of journalists, the sentencing of a senior White House aide, and several lawsuits against the U.S. government. It also resulted in the overnight loss of her career and privacy. Having captured the nation’s attention, her outing has played a central role in the country’s turbulent struggle to redefine the First Amendment and the right to privacy; it has also undermined public trust of its leadership.

MARK SHIELDS

October 11, 2011 – 7 p.m. – Akin Auditorium

With a career spanning nine presidents, Mark Shields is one of the most respected analysts in Washington, a pundit whose experience and encyclopedic knowledge of politics combine for one of the most trusted bylines in journalism. For 17 years, he served as moderator of CNN’s weekly political discussion show, The Capital Gang. A former campaign manager, he reveals the little-known details of

American politics, delivering a frontline perspective on today’s headlines including news from the Obama Administration, Congress, and what effects it will have on the 2012 elections. Shields informs and delights audiences with his unique brand of wit, whimsy, and wisdom.

BRAVE COMBO

November 7, 2011 – 7 p.m. – Akin Auditorium

Trying to describe Brave Combo’s music requires an extensive vocabulary – at least when it comes to musical styles. For the past three decades the Denton, Texas, based quintet has perfected a world music mix that includes salsa, meringue, rock, cumbia, conjunto, polka, zydeco, classical, cha cha, the blues and more. They are America’s Premier Dance band and a rollicking, rocking, rhythmic global journey.

A critic recently wrote, “Even if you come for the party, you’ll leave with something of a musical education.”

REED TIMMER

January 24, 2012 – 7 p.m. – Akin Auditorium

Reed Timmer’s first official storm chase was at the age of 13 when he intercepted a severe storm in his front yard and was pelted by golf-ball size hail that destroyed his family’s video camera. Ever since that day, he’s been obsessed with extreme weather and storm chasing. Timmer pursued this passion by studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. After documenting a massive F5 tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 3, 1999, Reed became even more obsessed with extreme storm chasing. Since then, he has driven more than 50,000 miles every year from the Mexican to Canadian borders, and has captured more than 200 tornadoes on film. In addition to storm chasing year-round, Timmer is working toward a Ph.D. in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. In 2003, Timmer started TornadoVideos.net, a company devoted to extreme storm chasing footage and research. Timmer is regularly featured on the Discovery Channel’s television series, Storm Chasers.

COLLINS TUOHY

February 22, 2012 – 7 p.m. – Akin Auditorium

Collins Tuohy shares a famously close bond with her adopted brother Michael Oher. As chronicled in The Blind Side, it began when she first met Oher in the hallways of Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee. Tuohy grew close to Oher as she helped him adjust to both Briarcrest and his new life with her family. At the podium, Tuohy takes audiences through her journey with Oher from fellow student to close friend, confidant, and ultimately, adoptive sister.

CHRISTOPHER GARDNER
March 6, 2012 – 7 p.m. – Akin Auditorium

Always hardworking and tenacious, a series of adverse circumstances in the early 1980s left Christopher Gardner homeless in San Francisco and the sole guardian of his toddler son. Unwilling to give up Chris Jr. or his dreams of success, Gardner climbed from the very bottom to the top of the financial industry ladder. Author of the autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, a New York Times and Washington Post No. 1 bestseller, he is also the inspiration for the acclaimed movie The Pursuit of Happyness. Gardner is an avid professional speaker, sharing with his audiences the keys to self-empowerment and the message of beating the odds and breaking cycles.