This year marks the tenth anniversary of the H. Lee Scott Speaker Series, an event that has consecutively brought national prominent figures to speak at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. Steve Scott served as the President of Pittsburg State University when construction began on the Bicknell in 2013.
“As I put together the work I did on my side with this building, The Bicknell Family Center for the Arts,” Scott said. “I kept saying to donors and others, ‘The building is important, but what happens inside the building is even more important.’”
There was not a performance hall on Pittsburg State’s campus in 30 years before Bicknell's opening. The last performance hall was Carnie Hall, which was torn down in 1980. It was a science and home economics department at Pitt State in addition to being a 3,000 seat auditorium.
“We were really positioning this university for decades of entertainment,” said Scott. “Cultural experiences that this community doesn’t have and hasn't had for close to forty years.”
Still, Scott thought there was something missing and with the help of his brother and sister in law, Linda and Lee Scott, work began on a speaker series.
“I said to them,” said Scott. “‘If you want to make a difference over time for Pittsburg State University and elevate its status, let’s talk about a speaker series.’”
The center has been the host of many community and university events since its opening — something Scott had already envisioned.
The series began in 2015 as a result of a gift of over $2 million from Pitt State alum and former Walmart CEO Lee Scott and his wife, Linda. Kathleen Flannery serves as the president and CEO of the Pitt State Foundation - a key asset in the development of fundraising and campus programs such as the Speaker series.
“It really was the brainchild of the Scotts that wanted to make sure we can host names of people who are well known all over the place.” Flannery said.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was the inaugural speaker. Since then, there’s been eight speakers who have visited Pittsburg for the speaker series. Guests have ranged from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to actor Rainn Wilson. Flannery said that the series is meant to expand people's lives.
“This is really supposed to raise the level of discourse for our students,” she said. “And our students to be exposed to people who have different thought processes, different perspectives, different skill sets, different viewpoints, and allow us to have a conversation about it.”
This year, Pittsburg State invited two brand new speakers to take stage at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts: Scientist Bill Nye, and American entrepreneur Daymond John.
As Nye took the stage on April 9th, applause erupted as he looked out to a sold out crowd of families, fans, and Pittsburg State students.
Mitch Adams is a senior at Pitt State and a multimedia journalist for the local TV station, KOAM. Adams was part of the press pool for interviewing Nye before his speaking event.
“It was just a really cool experience,” said Adams. “Obviously I work for KOAM, but I owe Pittsburg State a lot as a student as well, because the two of those combined have given me some really cool opportunities so far.”
He said experiences like these are part of what makes the speaker series valuable for students and gives them opportunities to hear from nationally recognized figures in ways they may not get anywhere else.
“Down the line, it could be something that you really look back on and say, ‘wow, the fact that our college was able to do this is a pretty dang cool experience,’” he said.
This year, Pittsburg State invited two brand new speakers to take stage at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts: Scientist Bill Nye, and American entrepreneur Daymond John. During an interview before the event, John said that college students are the future.
“Every single one of those young men and women had some of the toughest questions I’ve ever been asked,” he said. “Not one of them cannot run the world one day. So that’s why I love to come invest in our future.”
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