Honors College
University Forum Speaker Schedule
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In 2026, University Forum will continue our longstanding tradition of bringing incredible speakers to the University, including Mississippi native Michael Farris Smith.
Registration is not required and all Forum events are free and open to the public. We are happy, however, to send you a reminder email that will include an easy-to-use link to attend most Forums virtually.
Forum events will be held in-person on the Hattiesburg campus and at the Hattiesburg Saenger Theater, and most Forum events are also available through a livestream broadcast. Links to live events will be posted below the speaker’s bio on the day of the event. (Live streams of Forum events are offered as a courtesy; unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the quality of the live stream and cannot take questions from the online audience. If you are a student and your instructor requires proof of attendance, you must attend the in-person event to have your attendance recorded.)
If you require a sign language translator or any other accessibility accommodations, please contact University Forum at forumFREEMississippi at least one week prior to the event.
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Fall 2026 Speaker Schedule
Robert Jones
President and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute
September 15, 2026
6:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
Robert P. Jones is the president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book is Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, and his other works have won a 2021 American Book Award and 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. He serves on the national program committee for the American Academy of Religion and has written on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic, TIME, and Religion News Service. Jones writes the popular Redeeming Democracy newsletter, featuring research and analysis on religion, racial justice, and the moral work of democracy.
Michael Farris Smith
Award-winning author, screenwriter, and musician
October 6, 2026
6:30 p.m.
Bennett Auditorium
Michael Farris Smith is an award-winning author, screenwriter, and musician. His novels have been named on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Oprah Magazine, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Book of the Month selections. He wrote the screen adaptations for two of his novels, Desperation Road, a top ten international release on Netflix, and The Fighter, titled for the screen as Rumble Through the Dark, hailed by The New York Times as "an answered prayer of style and substance." With his band The Smokes, Smith recorded the EP Lostville, produced by Grammy nominee Jimbo Mathus.
David Lemieux
Grateful Dead's official audiovisual archivist
November 17, 2026
6:30 p.m.
Hattiesburg Saenger Theater
David Lemieux has been the Grateful Dead's official audiovisual archivist since 1999
and their Legacy Manager since 2010. Over the past 27 years, Lemieux has produced
scores of Grateful Dead CD and DVD releases, many of which have been certified Gold,
Platinum, and Multi-Platinum by the RIAA, as well as several Grammy nominated boxed
sets. He has produced 52 of the Grateful Dead’s World 
Record 66 Billboard Top 40 albums. Lemieux was the Supervising Music Producer on the Martin Scorsese-produced career-spanning documentary on the Grateful Dead, Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead. Since 2007, he has hosted a daily show on the Sirius XM Grateful Dead Channel, “Today in Grateful Dead History.”
Following David Lemieux's presentation, The Stolen Faces will perform. Since 2014, The Stolen Faces have deftly captured the spirit of the Dead, covering the band’s expansive catalog and delivering it with the sort of energy and spontaneity that might have you thinking you’re standing in the Winterland Ballroom in 1973!