Poignant Voices
Conservationist Jeff Corwin highlights Maverick Speakers Series this spring
Winter 2012 · Comment ·
The fifth season of UT Arlington’s marquee lectures, the Maverick Speakers Series, continues in the spring with astronaut Mark Kelly and the Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin.
Kelly, a retired Navy captain and best-selling author, speaks Feb. 19, 2013, in Texas Hall on “Endeavoring to Build a Better America.” Tickets will be available Jan. 22. Kelly flew his first of four missions in 2001 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which he commanded on its final flight in May 2011.
He became the center of international attention after the 2011 assassination attempt on his wife, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Kelly’s identical twin brother is also an astronaut, and they are the only twins and only siblings to have both traveled in space.
Corwin, a TV host and nature conservationist, closes the season with “100 Heartbeats: A Global Movement” March 27 at College Park Center. Tickets will be available Feb. 28. Best known as the host of the Animal Planet show The Jeff Corwin Experience, he has worked to protect endangered species and ecosystems worldwide for nearly three decades.
For his conservation efforts, Corwin was named ambassador of climate change and endangered species on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife, a prominent conservation organization. His book 100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth’s Most Endangered Species was published in 2010.
The 2012–13 Maverick Speakers Series kicked off in September with a lecture by legendary sportswriter and novelist Frank Deford. Other fall speakers were ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts and comedian Seth Meyers (see College Park Comedy).
Free general admission tickets are available at utatickets.com. Visit uta.edu/maverickspeakers to watch video highlights of past speakers.
