The lineup for the 2010-11 Forum Speaker Series has been formally announced, and it contains a wide array of speakers who will be visiting Penn State this year. While their names may not be readily recognizable, these folks will be speaking about some pressing, diverse issues.

“We strive for a breadth of topics and speakers,” said Karin Foley, chair of the Forum Planning Committee. She said that this year’s program makes up a “nice blend” of talks. The series will be presented as lunches from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., composed of the speaker’s presentation and an audience Q & A session.

Here is the schedule as posted on the Forum website:

Sept. 3, 2010: Stephen Lewis, Co-Director, AIDS-Free World

Sept. 24: Michael Oriard, Professor of American Literature and Culture, Oregon State University

Oct. 8: Brian Ross, Chief Investigative Correspondent, ABC News

Oct. 21: Anthony D. Cortese, President, Second Nature: Education for Sustainability

Nov. 19: Jill Jaune, Singer/Songwriter

Jan. 14, 2011: Robin Becker, Penn State Laureate

Feb. 25: James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, National Security Branch, FBI

Mar. 2: Hal Rosenbluth, Co-Founder and Chairman, Take Care Employer Solutions, LLC

Apr. 7: Ed Montgomery, Director, Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers

More detailed information about each speaker and locations of each presentation are provided on the Forum website.

Like the speakers themselves, the efforts to bring them to campus come from “far and wide,” Foley said. The Forum committee welcomes student suggestions for speakers, and the chair said that the committee “occasionally [gets] suggestions from students, but not often.”

“We’d love to have more students attend than do,” Foley added. Though the logistics can present a tough obstacle to finding time to attend a talk, all of them present great, unique opportunities.

Tickets to all presentations are $18. More information about each speaker, and the locations for each talk are located on the Forum website.