2006 LSUS Lincoln Lecture Series speaker named
02/10/06

Dr. John F. Marszalek, the W. L. Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Mississippi State University, will deliver the annual Frank and Virginia Williams Lincoln Lecture at LSUS at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, in the LSUS Science Lecture Auditorium (behind the Science building). The program is free and open to the public.

Marszalek’s presentation, “1862: A Year of Decision for Mr. Lincoln and General Halleck,” is based partly on his research for Commander of All Lincoln Armies: A Life of General Henry W. Halleck (Harvard University Press, 2004).

A prolific author and recipient of many academic awards, Marszalek has appeared on many television and radio stations throughout the nation. One of his numerous awards includes “The Best Speaker” at the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, Penn. His latest book, Sherman’s March to the Sea (Harvard University Press) was published last year. Marszalek currently serves as the director and mentor of Mississippi State University’s Distinguished Scholars program.

A U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, Marszalek is married to the former Jeanne Kozmer. They are the parents of three grown sons.

According to Dr. William D. Pederson, an LSUS professor of political science, director of the LSUS International Lincoln Center for American Studies and chair designate of the LSUS American Studies Endowed Chair, this is the 12th year of the Frank and Virginia Williams annual lecture series. Past speakers have included Jean H. Baker, Harold Holzer, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Michael Beschloss and others. “This is the first time we have offered a military historian, so we are expecting a large turnout,” Pederson noted.