Dr. Guion “Guy” Bluford Jr. was the first African American in space.  (Photo courtesy of SIUE)

Dr. Guion “Guy” Bluford Jr., the first African- American to travel in space, will speak at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Arts & Issues presentation at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19 in the Morris University Center’s Meridian Ballroom.

The SIUE Graduate School and Department of Physics William C. Shaw Lectures Series are jointly presenting Bluford’s “The Future of the Space Program and the International Space Station.”

“As part of Arts & Issues’ tradition of bringing speakers to campus who have made history, we are proud to present Dr. Guion Bluford, retired NASA astronaut, aerospace engineer, pilot and business executive,” said Grant Andree, director of the Arts & Issues series. “Dr. Bluford’s accomplishments are many, and we are excited to have him on campus.”

“We all share this one planet. We all need to take care of it and manage its resources together, so we can all prosper,” said Bluford in his interview, Conversations from Penn State.

Bluford was the first African American to receive NASA’s coveted Astronaut Pin and the U.S. Air Force’s Command Pilot Astronaut Wings.  He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.

Tickets can be purchased at artsandissues.com, by phone at (866) 698-4253 or at the Morris University Center (MUC) Welcome Desk.

The Arts & Issues series brings artistic excellence to the SIUE campus through an eclectic blend of speakers and performers. For more than 33 years, SIUE’s Arts & Issues series has highlighted some of the world’s finest artists.

Each season, thought-provoking speakers inspire people of all ages and backgrounds. Thanks to the underwriting of SIUE, corporations, foundations and individual donors, tickets are often discounted as much as 50 percent.

— First African American in space to speak at SIUE —