Peru, Nebraska - Joe Starita will present on the Peru State College campus as part of the Distinguished
Speaker Series. He has recently released his third book, “A Warrior of the People
– How Susan La Flesche Overcame Racial and Gender Inequality to Become America’s First
Indian Doctor."
Starita's presentation will be Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Al Wheeler Activity
Center (AWAC). The speech will be free and open to the public.
A Nebraska native, Starita went to college on a baseball scholarship, played professional
basketball in Turkey and had a stint herding cattle on an Israeli kibbutz. Eventually,
he spent 14 years at The Miami Herald – including four years as the newspaper’s New
York Bureau Chief and four years on its Investigations Team.
Interested in Native Americans since childhood, he has written three critically acclaimed
books examining their vital roles in American history. Three years ago, he started
a college scholarship fund for Native American high school graduates.
Starita is currently a professor at the University of Nebraska College of Journalism
and Mass Communications.
Joe Starita
Peru State established the Distinguished Speaker Series in fall 2010 as part of its
commitment to student engagement and success. The intent of the Series is to bring
diverse, nationally and internationally recognized speakers to southeast Nebraska
to enrich the educational experience of students while also providing the surrounding
communities with opportunities to engage in interesting and relevant topics.
Speakers are encouraged to connect with the community in a variety of ways during
their visits through classroom discussions, guest lectures, meet-and-greet receptions
and a keynote address.
Olympian and Nebraska native, Curt Tomasevicz, will speak as part of this series on
April 10. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit
www.peru.edu/speakerseries.
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