USM Alumnus and Christianity Today Editor Russell Moore to Open 2025 University Forum Series

Wed, 08/27/2025 - 09:20am | By: Dr. David Tisdale

Dr. Russell Moore, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today and a nationally recognized author and commentator, will launch The University of Southern Mississippi’s 2025 University Forum series. The Southern Miss alumnus and Biloxi native will speak on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center Ballroom on the Hattiesburg campus.

An ordained Baptist minister, Moore is the author of Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America and previously served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He also served as provost and dean of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught theology and ethics.

The Wall Street Journal has described Moore as “vigorous, cheerful and fiercely articulate.” In 2017, he was named to Politico Magazine’s list of the top 50 influence-makers in Washington and has been profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME and The New Yorker.

A fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, Moore serves on the board of Becket Law and as a senior fellow with the Trinity Forum in Washington, D.C. He hosts the weekly podcast The Russell Moore Show and is a senior commentator on Christianity Today’s weekly news and analysis podcast The Bulletin. His other books include The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul, Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel, and The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home.

Dr. Mac Alford, director of University Forum, said this year’s schedule fittingly begins with a Southern Miss alumnus to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the university’s Honors College, which presents University Forum annually.

“We’re excited to bring some fascinating speakers to Southern Miss this fall, and Dr. Moore’s presentation promises to be a great way to begin the 2025-26 series,” Alford said. “I expect his talk will generate a lot of conversation about the intersection of religious belief and political action.”

Honors College Dean Dr. Joyce Inman added, “Having just celebrated the 50th anniversary of University Forum in 2024 and preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Honors College in 2026, it’s been a pleasure to see Dr. Alford’s vision for this year’s Forum lineup come together.”

“We’re excited this year’s series will be kicked off by alumnus Dr. Russell Moore, and that our students and community members will have the opportunity to learn about his perspectives on a number of current cultural moments.”

Following Moore, the fall 2025 University Forum schedule includes:

Nina Tandon — Tuesday, Oct. 21, 6:30 p.m., Thad Cochran Center Ballroom
Tandon, CEO and co-founder of Epibone, grows artificial tissues such as hearts and bones for safe implantation in the body. She leads the world’s first company growing living human bone for skeletal reconstruction and is a senior fellow at Columbia’s Lab for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, as well as an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at Cooper Union.

Dava Sobel — Tuesday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m., Thad Cochran Center Ballroom
Sobel, author of the international bestseller Longitude, is a former New York Times science reporter and current editor of the “Meter” poetry column in Scientific American. She received the Individual Public Service Award from the National Science Board. Her other works include Pulitzer Prize finalist Galileo’s Daughter, The Planets, A More Perfect Heaven, And the Sun Stood Still, and The Glass Universe.

For more information about University Forum, visit the website.