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Michael Gannon, historian and author,
opens FSC's Florida Lecture Series

LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 12, 2003) - Florida Southern College's Center for Florida History welcomes Dr. Michael Gannon, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Florida, as the Center begins its 2003-2004 Florida Lecture Series Thursday, Sept. 25. Gannon will deliver a "History of Florida in Forty Minutes." The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in the William M. Hollis Seminar Room on campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

"We are extremely proud to have Professor Gannon as our opening speaker for this year's Florida Lecture Series," said James M. Denham, director of the FSC Center for Florida History. 
"For many years Mike Gannon's books and lectures have informed students, legislators, and television viewers about Florida's varied past from its earliest Spanish roots to the present." 

Gannon is considered the foremost authority on the Catholic Church in Florida, and his first two books, "Rebel Bishop" (1964) and "The Cross in the Sand" (1965), address that subject. He has also written "Florida: A Short History" (1993) and is editor and contributor to "The New History of Florida" (1996). 

In the area of naval history, Gannon is the author of the bestseller "Operation Drumbeat" (1990), a history of Germany's first U-boat operations along the American coast in World War II, and "Black May" (1998), about the Allies' defeat of the German U-boat fleet in May 1943. His "Pearl Harbor Betrayed," released in 2001, has been called the most "authoritatively researched and documented book yet written" on the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941. A frequent commentator on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Explorer, and public television, Gannon is widely recognized as one of America's foremost historians.

About the Florida Lecture Series 
The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History and sponsored by the FSC Alumni Association, the Robert and Rose Stahl Criminology Lecture Series, and the Robert W. and Susan E. McKnight Political Affairs Lecture Series. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of "Florida Life and Culture" from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the state's history and culture. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

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