Tickets to Colin Powell speech to be disbursed starting Monday

Tickets to see former military general and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell speak at Central Michigan University will be available Monday.

Powell will serve as keynote speaker for Martin Luther King Jr. celebration week, and the event is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the CMU Events Center. Tickets are free.

A news release last month said tickets would be available in mid-November, but Director of University Events Bob Ebner said tickets have not been available yet because it has taken longer to coordinate everyone involved.

He said a lot of organizations and people are involved in the event.

“We’re trying to get all the coordination together, so when we’re ready to go, it’ll be right,” he said.

Kay Purtill, executive secretary for the political science department, said the department doesn’t handle the tickets for the event.

As previously reported by CM Life, Powell will be paid $125,000 for his appearance, a majority of which will come from the Philip A. Hart and William G. Milliken Endowed Speaker Series fund.

The speaker series is housed within the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Office of Institutional Diversity, Multicultural Academic Students Services, Speaker Series and Program Board have also helped to fund the event.

Powell, a four-star military general and Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush, will give a speech titled, “Taking Charge.”

Powell has more than 35 years of military service, and rose to captain status within the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He earned more than 10 separate medals for his duty, including a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and two Legion of Merit awards.

He also will meet with a group of students before the keynote presentation to talk about leadership. Additional events with Powell are likely to be added at a later date, according to a news release.

Tickets Central is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.