The Houston Ballet’s Lauren Anderson will be presenting the latest installment of the “Grassroots: Conversations on Leadership in a Diverse Community” lecture series on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The event will be hosted in the Olson Auditorium – Academic Building IV – at 5 p.m.
The presentation will be loosely formatted to allow the speaker to interact with the audience. Participants will be given the opportunity to ask Anderson questions during the session, as well as her prepared speech.
After the speech, there will be a reception in the SAM Center, suite 210, at 6 p.m. Students will be able to develop contacts and network, as well as meet Lauren Anderson. Light refreshments will be served at the reception.
This week’s speaker, Anderson, is in a different professional field than all of the previous Grassroots speakers.
“Traditionally, I have grassroots speakers that have been role models and leaders in education; I line up speakers for the entire year, generally through the summer,” Dr. Bernice Strauss, Director of Academic Support Programs, said.
“As I began to think about who our students are and what they study, I thought my focus was too narrow and I began to research other people making significant contributions outside of higher education.”
Anderson is the first African-American ballerina to be promoted to Principal dancer. She danced for the Houston Ballet from 1983 to 2006, and now is an Outreach Associate for the Ballet.
“I am delighted that she’s coming,” Strauss said. “Clearly, she is a woman who has broken new ground in a discipline that requires a level of dedication and commitment that is astounding.”