Baker to host John Musgrave event

In celebration of Veterans Day, Baker University will host John Musgrave: Poet, Storyteller, Vietnam War Veteran from 4-5:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 19, in the newly renovated Rice Auditorium on the Baldwin City campus. The conversation and question-and-answer session will also feature readings of Musgrave’s poetry by the Baker Speech Choir.

A former Baker student, Musgrave is featured in The Vietnam War, a documentary film series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that debuted in September on PBS.

“We are both honored and excited to have John Musgrave speak to the Baker community about his tour of duty and contributions to the Ken Burn’s documentary on Vietnam,” said Leonard Ortiz, associate professor of history. “His stories and insights about the Vietnam War are illuminating and thought provoking. This is an opportunity for our community to gain invaluable insight about the war and should not be missed.”

Ortiz will moderate the event, which is sponsored by Baker’s Department of History, Culture, and Society as well as the Office of Alumni Relations.

“We were very honored and humbled when John agreed to speak to an audience of Baker students, faculty, staff, and alumni and members of the Baldwin City community,” said Doug Barth, director of alumni relations. “In our brief encounters with John, we learned pretty quickly that he’s an amazing person with a very engaging story, and we knew that we wanted others to share in his experiences. We’re so proud of John and all of our veterans and we look forward to having some of them in attendance — especially only a week after Veterans Day.”

In addition, a presentation to formally introduce the John Musgrave Scholarship for Veterans will be held in conjunction with the event. Baker alumnus Nelson Elliott, ’66, has generously contributed funds to create a scholarship honoring Musgrave. The scholarship will be awarded starting fall 2018 to a full-time Baker student who has served in the armed forces.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Doug Barth at doug.barth@bakerU.edu or 785.594.4799.