Author, Paralympic gold medalist, ESPN host and reporter, and motivational speaker Victoria Arlen will be the next featured speaker in the David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series at Ball State University.
Ms. Arlen’s lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Pruis Hall on Ball State’s campus. The lecture is free and open to the public, but general admission tickets are required for entry into the event. Tickets became available to Ball State students, faculty, and staff on Oct. 16. Starting Oct. 23, free tickets for the off-campus community can be obtained in advance from Ball State’s Emens box office, which is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets can also be ordered from the box office: 765-285-1539. All phone orders are subject to a $4 service charge. If capacity allows, tickets will be available at the door. Tickets are limited to four per person.
Among her many other accomplishments—which include setting a world record in swimming at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, being a contestant on the “Dancing With the Stars” television show. and hosting “American Ninja Warrior Jr.” in 2022—Ms. Arlen also founded the nonprofit Victoria’s Victory Foundation to assist others with mobility challenges achieve their goals.
Ms. Arlen’s inspiration for creating Victoria’s Victory Foundation is rooted in her fight for life after being diagnosed with two rare neurological disorders in 2006 when she was 11 years old. She then spent four years in a vegetative state. After learning how to speak, eat, and move all over again, Victoria was paralyzed from the waist down for a decade before regaining her ability to walk in 2016. Ms. Arlen wrote a book about this experience titled, “Locked In,” which was published in August 2018. The ESPN 30 for 30 film, “Locked In – The Victoria Arlen Story,” aired in July 2018.
“What a pleasure it will be to welcome Ms. Arlen to Ball State as our next guest in the David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series,” said Dr. Paaige Turner, dean of Ball State’s College of Communication, Information, and Media (CCIM), which coordinates the series. “Ms. Arlen is an immensely accomplished woman whose professional achievements are impressive and whose personal story is inspiring.”
The David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series was established in 2008 through a generous gift from Mr. Letterman, a 1969 Ball State graduate. The series brings major business, media, and academic figures to campus to engage students in discussions about the latest issues in communications, emerging media, and cultural forces shaping our society.
Guests have included legendary newscaster Ted Koppel, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, innovator Tom Kelley, award-winning journalist John Quiñones, and author and public policy expert Kathleen Hall Jamieson. Actor and producer David Arquette was the Spring 2023 guest. New York Times bestselling author, educator, business advisor, and Ball State University graduate Stedman Graham ’79 was the Fall 2022 guest. And Tiara Thomas, a 2012 Ball State University graduate and Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer-songwriter, was the Fall 2021 guest.
Mr. Letterman has personally invited and hosted conversations with media icon and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, MSNBC primetime host Rachel Maddow, and filmmakers Spike Jonze and Bennett Miller.