ABERDEEN, S.D. — The Northern State University Center for Public History and Civic Engagement will host Princeton University professor Robert P. George for a public lecture on Monday, April 27, at 7 p.m. in the Johnson Fine Arts Center Room 181, known as the Blue Room, on the Northern State University campus in Aberdeen.

George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton, will speak on "America 250," reflecting on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. One of the most prominent public intellectuals in the country, George has advised at the highest levels of American government, serving as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a member of the President's Council on Bioethics and a presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

A graduate of Swarthmore College, George holds law and theology degrees from Harvard University and doctoral degrees from Oxford University. He is a former judicial fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, where he received the Justice Tom C. Clark Award, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Sciences and Letters. He holds 23 honorary degrees and has delivered honorific lectures at Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cornell universities.

"Robert George is one of the most respected public intellectuals of our time. It is an honor to have him on our campus. I encourage everyone to attend what is sure to be a compelling and informative talk about the meaning of America," said Dr. Jon Schaff, professor of government and director of the Center for Public History and Civic Engagement at Northern State University.

The event is sponsored by Sim Civics, a U.S. Department of Education program. The Northern State University Center for Public History and Civic Engagement is organizing the event in conjunction with the Black Hills State University Center for Civic Engagement. The event is free and open to the public.