David Gergen will speak on "Eyewitness to Power: Leadership in America," at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in Emens Auditorium. The presentation, free and open to the public, is sponsored by Ball State's Office of the Provost and the College of Communication, Information, and Media.

Gergen served as director of communications for President Reagan and held positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford. In 1993, he became counselor to President Clinton on both foreign policy and domestic affairs. Gergen later served as special international adviser to Clinton and to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

He currently is the editor-at-large for U.S. News & World Report. Gergen is a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

A native of Durham, N.C., Gergen is an honors graduate of Yale University and Harvard University's Law School.

Gergen is active on many non-profit boards and is chairman of the National Selection Committee for the Ford Foundation's program on Innovations in American Government. A regular lecturer, he has been awarded 12 honorary degrees.

(NOTE TO EDITORS:For more information, contact Bob Condon at rdcondon@bsu.edu or (765) 285-1742. Gergen's Web site is www.davidgergen.com.)