LeVar Burton to speak at ULM's Lyceum Series

Actor LeVar Burton, who also hosts the show “Reading Rainbow,” will speak at the University of Louisiana Monroe as part of this year’s Lyceum Series. The lecture will be 7 p.m. Feb. 25 in ULM’s Brown Auditorium. A Patron Party will precede the event at 5 p.m. in the ULM Library Conference Center.
            Burton starred as Kunta Kinte in the American epic “Roots,” as well as Geordi La Forge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Burton also has voiced several cartoon characters, including the character Kwame in the 1990s series “Captain Planet” and several characters in the “Transformers: Rescue Bots” series. He has recently made guest appearances on shows such as “Community” and “The Big Bang Theory” and was the recurring character of Paul Haley on the TNT crime drama, “Perception.”

Burton’s children’s television series “Reading Rainbow” ran for 23 seasons, returning recently after the success of a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $5.5 million. Burton will discuss the importance of literacy and his career.
            Tickets are $25 general admission, $15 ULM faculty and staff and $3 for ULM students. Patron Party tickets are $50 and are limited. For tickets, visit ulm.edu/lyceum/tickets.html.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire, “A Cajun Dream” and “The Letter.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.