Each year, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, in coordination with various secondary schools from the Johnstown area, and the UPJ Great Americans Day Endowed Fund invites a scholar to make a public presentation concerning the life of one Great American in the month of February, between George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays. A different Great American is featured in the series each year. The program brings together University faculty, staff, and students, local secondary school students and educators, and the general public of Western Pennsylvania. The intention of the series is to honor a Great American from the past in observance of "Great Americans Day," and to engender an ongoing discussion about what all of us can do in the present to be better citizens in our local, national, and world-wide communities. By focusing on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations in the lives of outstanding citizens, we hope to spark introspection into our own. Past subjects have included Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. To learn about past programs, please visit the Great American's Day Citizenship Forum's website below.

Travel expenses, hotel, meals and an honorarium will be provided for the speaker. To apply, please submit a topic proposal of three hundred words and current curriculum vitae. The successful applicants will demonstrate experience in addressing the general public as well as a particular expertise about their subject. Send applications via e-mail to the address below or through the U.S. mail to Paul Douglas Newman. The deadline for proposals is January 7, 2002.