he 26th annual Louise McBee Lecture, presented by President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman on December 2, 2014 in the UGA Chapel is featured in the February 2015 issue of Vital Speeches of the Day. The title of Dr. Coleman's lecture was "Public Higher Education in the 21st Century: Can America Continue to Lead?". "This is a publication that honors exceptional speeches from many quarters, and it is quite an honor to be recognized," said Dr. Coleman. "My speech writer, Kim Clarke deserves much credit for her lyrical style and understanding of my 'voice'". Mary Sue Coleman served as the 13th president of the University of Michigan from August 2002 until July 2014. Under President Coleman’s leadership, the University of Michigan launched and expanded academic partnerships with universities in China, Ghana, South Africa, Brazil and India. She also announced a groundbreaking partnership between the university and Google, which enables the public to search the text of the university’s 7-million-volume library and opened the way to universal access and the preservation of recorded human knowledge. In 2009, Time magazine named her as one of the nation’s “10 best college presidents.” Vital Speeches of the Day is a monthly collection of the best speeches in the world. The magazine was launched in 1934 on the old-fashioned premise that “it is indeed vital to the welfare of the nation that important, constructive addresses by recognized leaders in both the public and private sectors be permanently recorded and disseminated—both to ensure that readers gain a sound knowledge of public questions and to provide models of excellence in contemporary oratory.” Type of News/Audience: General News
