The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Libraries will present a program on Abraham Lincoln for the 2009 Mary Jane Schafer Distinguished Speaker Series event and will co-present two performances of a play on Lincoln with the IUP department of theater and dance. The programs have been organized in conjunction with Lincoln's 200th birthday.
The lecture, “Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle to End Slavery,” is March 16 at 7:15 p.m. in McVitty Auditorium in Sprowls Hall. The speaker is Dr. Richard Striner, author of a book by that name and professor of history at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. He earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland.
Performances of “Time and Time Again: Abraham Through the Ages,” a play by Don Orwald, will be presented on March 16 and 17 at 6 p.m. in the lower level of the IUP Performing Arts Center Waller Hall Studio Theater.
The play is about Lincoln and newly elected president Barack Obama. It is set in April 1865 and December 2008.
Orwald, originally from Butler, received his master's degree in English from IUP. He is a retired faculty member from the English department at Knoch High School in Saxonburg, where he directed the high school's plays and musicals.
Both presentations are free and open to the community.
The IUP Libraries also is hosting a special exhibit on the first floor of the Stapleton Library about Abraham Lincoln, featuring memorabilia and artifacts, during February and March.
The Schafer series was established in honor of Mary Jane Schafer, a graduate of Indiana State Teachers College, and is funded by The Schafer Endowment.