Published January 25, 2016
Monroe, La. — LeVar Burton, widely known for hosting the show Reading Rainbow and starring in
“Roots,” will speak at the University of Louisiana Monroe as part of this year’s Lyceum
Series, at 7 p.m., on February 25, in ULM’s Brown Auditorium.
A Patron Party will precede the event at 5 p.m. in the ULM Library Conference Center,
located on the seventh floor of the ULM Library.
Burton has enjoyed a successful acting career. He starred as Kunta Kinte in the American
epic "Roots," as well as Geordi La Forge in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Burton
also has voiced several loved cartoon characters, including the character of Kwame
in the 1990s series “Captain Planet” and several characters in the “Transformers:
Rescue Bots” series. He has recently made guest appearances on smash shows, like “Community”
and “The Big Bang Theory” and was the recurring character of Paul Haley on the TNT
crime drama, “Perception.”
Burton also hosted the beloved children's television series "Reading Rainbow" for
23 seasons. The series has returned because of the incredible success of a Kickstarter
campaign that raised more than $5.5 million.
“Campus Activities Board and the Student Government Association are proud to host
LeVar Burton as this year’s speaker,” said Laura Knotts Jennings, SGA advisor and
Director of Student Life and Leadership said. “Mr. Burton’s work advocating literacy
is incredible. He not only focused on about teaching children how to read, but also
to learn to love to read. I greatly admire him and have so many fond memories of watching
Reading Rainbow.”
Burton will discuss the importance of literacy and his career.
TICKETS:
ULM students may purchase one ticket at a discounted price of $3. ULM faculty and
staff may purchase one ticket at a discounted price of $15. General admission tickets
are $25; and Patron Party tickets are $50 and are limited.
Tickets may be purchased online at ulm.edu/lyceum/tickets.html
For more information about this event, contact Laura Knotts Jennings, at knotts@ulm.edu or at 318-342-5287.
