MOUNT VERNON — Author, journalist and commentator Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, will speak on “The Future of Freedom” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in King Chapel at Cornell College.

Zakaria’s lecture, the second in Cornell’s Delta Phi Rho Lecture series, takes its title from his second book, “The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad,” released in 2003. Admission to the lecture is free. Zakaria will sign books at a reception in Cole Library following the lecture.

Editor of Newsweek International since 2001, Zakaria oversees Newsweek’s eight editions throughout Asia, Latin America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. His column — on subjects ranging from terrorism, national security and America’s role in the world to the global economy and the rise of China — appears in Newsweek, Newsweek International and often The Washington Post, making it one of the most widely circulated columns of its kind in the world. His award-winning cover stories have included “Why America Scares the World,” “How to Win the Peace” and “Why They Hate Us.”

Describing him as “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation,” Esquire named Zakaria “one of the 21 most important people of the 21st century.”

“The Future of Freedom” is a global analysis of how democracy has changed every aspect of our lives, from economics and technology to politics and social relations. His 1999 book, “Wealth to Power,” was a provocative examination of America’s role on the world stage. Zakaria has written for publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal.

A political analyst for ABC News, Zakaria serves as a regular member of the roundtable on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” Zakaria began hosting “Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria” on PBS in 2005. He also has appeared on “Charlie Rose,” “BBC World News,” “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “Meet the Press.”

Indian-born and trained as an academic at Yale and Harvard, Zakaria, at age 28, became the youngest managing editor in the history of Foreign Affairs, the leading journal of international politics and economics. Before joining Foreign Affairs, he ran the Project on the Changing Security Environment at Harvard University, where he also taught international politics and economics.

The lecture is funded by the Delta Phi Rho Centennial Endowment, created by early 1960s Cornell alumni for the social group’s anniversary in 1998. The purpose of the endowment is to contribute to the intellectual capital of the college and the community by bringing nationally prominent figures to campus to interpret current issues and encourage student and faculty involvement in public affairs. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Bob Woodward presented the inaugural Delta Phi Rho Lecture in March 2004.

MOUNT VERNON — Cedar Rapids native and Xavier University President Michael Graham will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award at Cornell College’s homecoming Saturday, Oct. 15, in an awards presentation at 10 a.m. in King Chapel.

Graham, a 1975 Cornell graduate, has served Xavier for 20 years, starting as an adjunct professor of history and culminating in his installation in 2001 as president of the Jesuit university in Cincinnati. He also has served as the senior development officer leading a $125 million campaign.

Graham graduated from Jefferson High School and then from Cornell with a degree in philosophy and psychology. He earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree in divinity at the Weston School of Theology. He was ordained a priest in 1988.

Other alumni to be honored are Dr. Sharon Goodwin Fogleman, receiving the Leadership and Service Award, and Tim Devine, with a Young Alumni Award. Fogleman, a 1975 Cornell graduate who earned a medical degree from the University of Iowa, has spent her career as a medical missionary. Along with her physician husband, she served a population of 350,000 people for 10 years in Kenya’s only United Methodist hospital and since 1997 has worked at a Methodist medical clinic in rural Kentucky.

Devine, a 1992 Cornell graduate, has managed a number of successful Chicago political campaigns and was one of 10 Chicago-area winners of the 2004 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. He teaches history, government and constitutional law at Northside College Preparatory High School, Illinois’ No. 1 high school and one of the top 20 high schools in the country.

Also on Saturday is a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. for the current exhibition in the Peter Paul Luce Gallery of McWethy Hall. “Cornell College Alumni Photo” features 15 alumni artists’ work, including traditional and digital ranges of the spectrum, manipulated imagery, documentary subjects, human and canine portraiture and landscapes of a personal and universal nature.

Cornell’s homecoming events begin Friday, Oct. 14, and include a pep rally and fireworks in Ash Park, starting at 9:30 p.m. Other special activities are historic tours of campus, featuring reenactors representing characters from Cornell’s past, starting outside The Commons at 3 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and the homecoming football game against the University of Dubuque, kicking off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Ash Park.

MOUNT VERNON — The author of the top biological science book for 2004 will speak Monday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in Kimmel Theatre at Cornell College.

James Spotila, professor of environmental science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, will lecture on “Sea Turtles: Ecology, Behavior and Conservation.” Admission is free.

After the talk, Spotila will sign copies of his book, “Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation,” honored in 2004 as the “Best Book in Biological Science” by the American Association of Publishers. The book, which is illustrated by renowned nature photographers, offers a comprehensive account of the evolutionary history of sea turtles, their physiology, life cycle and behavior. The book covers the seven species of sea turtles and explains sea turtle conservation activities.

Spotila is the L.D. Betz Chair Professor of Environmental Science at Drexel. He also is the founding president of the International Sea Turtle Society and president of the Leatherback Trust, two organizations dedicated to conservation and research on sea turtles.

Spotila’s appearance has been arranged by the Connections program, a consortium of natural science departments from Cornell, Coe and Mount Mercy colleges, Kirkwood Community College and Cedar Rapids Washington High School, plus several natural resource and environmental groups in Linn County. Connections offers a continuing lecture series on a variety of topics to connect students and the public to outstanding members of the scientific community. The series also offers an opportunity to learn more about current environmental issues.

Spotila will meet with students at Washington High School and Cornell. His visit is co-sponsored by Cornell’s Lecture, Artists, Cultural Events Consortium.

MOUNT VERNON — The Cornell College fine arts renovation project of Armstrong Hall and Youngker Hall, including Kimmel Theatre, has received an honor award for excellence in architecture in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Central States Region Awards.

McWethy Hall, the first building completed in the fine arts project, received an honor award from the AIA Iowa chapter.

All projects were designed by Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck (HLKB) Architecture of Des Moines. Armstrong Hall, built in 1938, was renovated in 2002-2003 for the music and theater departments. Youngker Hall opened in 2003 featuring a new 266-seat, state-of-the-art theater. McWethy Hall, which opened in 1909 as Cornell’s first gymnasium, was renovated for the art department and reopened in 2002.

HLKB won six of the 16 AIA Central States Region Awards, including three merit awards and two citation awards. An honor award is the highest recognition. The Central States Region covers Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. In the AIA Iowa chapter awards, HLKB received seven of the 11 design awards, including all four of the top honor awards.

Other campus projects completed by HLKB include renovations to Law Hall and Cole Library, the new Marie Fletcher Carter Pedestrian Mall and improvements to Bowman-Carter residence hall.