The Committee on Lectures at Iowa State is bringing various speeches, performances and discussions to Ames this semester.

The committee, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body, has 27 intellectuals already on its program slate.

“Our committee provides an avenue of funding for groups that otherwise could not get the speakers they wanted to come to the university,” said Ryan Sievers, co-chairman of the Committee on Lectures and senior in anthropology.

“The criteria that we have for any group to be funded is that the event must be open to all and free. This allows us to accomplish our goal of providing otherwise unavailable opportunities to students,” he said.

The theme for this year’s program revolves around ISU alumnus George Washington Carver. Carver, who went on to become a renowned inventor, was the first African-American to graduate from ISU.

“This year is dedicated to the legacy of George Washington Carver,” said Pat Miller, ISU Lectures Program coordinator. “A committee of students, faculty and administrators are planning activities all year long and are encouraging everyone on campus to plan things around the celebration.”

The Carver Celebration kicked off Sunday with legendary comedian Bill Cosby.

Other highlights in the ISU lecture program include Jean-Michel Cousteau, Gloria Steinem and Sally Ride.

Cousteau will speak on Sept. 23 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. The son of famous undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau helped produce many of his father’s undersea documentaries.

The younger Cousteau also is involved in many environmental projects of his own.

“We are very excited about Cousteau coming,” Sievers said. “The sinking of his ship plus the tragedy in his family really makes for a tough situation.

“Cousteau is such a household name, and Jean-Michel is continuing where his father left off,” he said. “I think his speech will really be neat.”

Steinem will deliver the keynote address for Women’s Week on Oct. 13 at C.Y. Stephens Auditorium. Steinem’s speech, “The Politics of Feminism Across Race and Generations,” will allow ISU students to hear one of the century’s top women’s rights activists.

“A lot of people know her name and know what she has done,” Sievers said.

Ride became the first woman to launch into space when she was a member of the crew aboard Challenger in 1983. She also was the head of the presidential commission to investigate the Challenger catastrophe of 1986.

Ride will be speaking in C.Y. Stephens on Oct. 24 on behalf of the Society for Women Engineers.

“Ride will pertain to a lot of different interests,” Sievers said. “A lot of students at Iowa State were in high school or middle school when she started to surface and create a name for herself.”

Sievers also said the bigger names that the committee sponsors illustrate the strength of the Lectures Program.

“Having a lot of these larger names come in shows that the lecture committee can pull in whomever they want,” he said.

For more information, contact the Lectures Program office in Room 69 of Physics Hall at 294-9934.

Matt Tremmel contributed to this article.