One of Truman’s oldest traditions, the Kohlenberg Lyceum Series, is coming back for the fall semester.
Lyceum is designed to bring performers to Truman and expose students and the community to different forms of entertainment.
Kohlenberg Lyceum Series planning co-chair Zac Burden said the series began as a speaker series for the community and morphed into the arts and entertainment series it is.
Burden said, Lyceum is one of the most interesting things at Truman.
“We’re able to bring in top-notch performances that you would expect to see in major cities — St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago — and that you would expect to pay major city prices for,” Burden said. “Here, we’re able to do it in Kirksville for $5.50 a ticket.”
Last year, Lyceum was a free event paid for by the University’s general fund. Now it is funded by donors for the foundation fund, so there will be a small ticket fee.
Public relations director Heidi Templeton said it’s important to recognize the series is supported by donors because it puts into perspective how impactful it is for the University to bring in the various performers.
Templeton said the series was named after Gilbert Kohlenberg, a former professor who dedicated his time to the Lyceum series.
“[Kohlenberg] was in charge of the series and he did everything” Templeton said. “I worked with him when he was 75 and retired, and [he] loved the series. His goal was to bring outside performances to Kirksville so people in Kirksville that wouldn’t have the opportunity to see these type of performances would be able to see just incredible performances.”