Penn State Forum / Enthralling Keynote Speakers

Philip Jenkins, Edwin Erle Sparks professor of humanities in the Department of History and Religious Studies at Penn State and distinguished senior fellow of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, speaking Thursday, April 29, on the topic of "The World's Religious Map in 2050" at the Penn State Forum, held at the Nittany…

Lisa See, author of the critically-acclaimed international bestseller, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), has always been intrigued by stories that have been lost, forgotten, or deliberately covered up, whether in the past or happening right now in the world today. For Snow Flower, she traveled to a remote area of China – where she…

Justin Catanoso is a newspaper journalist, a university lecturer and the author of the memoir My Cousin the Saint. He is a native of North Wildwood, NJ, and considered only one college after high school – Penn State. It‟s a family tradition. When he graduated from Penn State in 1982 with a BA in journalism, he…

Stephen L. Baker, author of The Numerati, is a senior writer at BusinessWeek, covering technology. Previously he was a Paris correspondent. Baker joined BusinessWeek in March, 1987, as manager of the Mexico City bureau, where he was responsible for covering Mexico and Latin America. He was named Pittsburgh bureau manager in 1992. Before BusinessWeek, Baker was…

Anthony T. Leach, associate professor of music and music education at The Pennsylvania State University is director of The University Choir, Essence of Joy and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral music education.

Barbara J. Rolls is Professor of Nutritional Sciences and the Helen A. Guthrie Chair in Nutrition at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Rolls also holds positions at Penn State as Professor in Biobehavioral Health, Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Medicine, and is a faculty member in the Intercollege Graduate Program in…

Ben Carson has a childhood dream of becoming a physician. Growing up in a single parent home with dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible temper, and low self-esteem appeared to preclude the realization of that dream until his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged her sons to strive for excellence. Young Ben persevered and today…

An ESPN and cable industry pioneer, George Bodenheimer was named ESPN‟s fifth President in 1998, and since then he has led an unprecedented period of growth for ESPN. Bodenheimer‟s path to leadership mirrors that of ESPN itself – with his sharp focus on creativity and cutting-edge innovation, his emphasis on always enhancing value to ESPN‟s fans…