The Archie McDonald Speaker Series is designed to honor and preserve the legacy of a distinguished scholar, educator, and community commentator who brings American culture to the average person. The speaker series will host a prominent national figure annually at SFA to discuss contemporary cultural issues—from politics to art—in the tradition of the writings and oral presentations of Dr. McDonald. In the process, the profile of SFA will be enhanced at the national level while the regional community will be enriched at the same time.
             The speaker series will include several unique features:

1. The speaker will be accessible to the community at-large through (a) an interactive dialogue with the audience, (b) a separate meeting with students, and (c) a pre-speech dinner open to the public;
2. A curricular focus on the speaker’s topic during the semester of the lecture to deepen academic understanding of contemporary American culture;
3. Publication and distribution of each lecture in an effort to promote a national conversation on issues of public importance.