Inspirational author to speak at CLU

Inspirational author to speak at CLU
His words in Congressional Record, on Starbucks cups

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Sept. 10, 2009) A best-selling author whose “Jacob the Baker” series has millions of fans around the world will give a free presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in California Lutheran University’s Lundring Events Center.

Santa Barbara poet-philosopher Noah benShea has written 22 books that have been translated into 18 languages. With global sales of more than 2 million copies, his books continue a tradition started with the “Jacob the Baker” series, which have been embraced as timeless fables in countries ranging from China to Mexico to Italy.
benShea was the subject of a 2009 PBS special called “The Journey to Greatness and How to Get There,” which aired in 150 cities across the United States and is now available on DVD and in book form.
His inspirational messages, life-changing stories and sage humor offer a practical and commonsense approach to embracing greatness in one’s life. An inspirational public speaker for 35 years who is sometimes referred to as the “Guru’s Guru” or a “Zen Mark Twain,” he has given lectures at Harvard, the Library of Congress and countless other places. His inspirational thoughts have been used by some of the largest companies in the United States including American Greetings, Lucky Brand Jeans and Costco. His words have graced millions of sugar packets and Starbucks coffee cups.

The New York Times Newspaper Regional Network distributed benShea’s weekly essays from 1997 to 2002 and he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His work has been incorporated in publications of the Congressional Record, Oxford University and the World Bible Society in Jerusalem. He is the National Laureate for the ALS Association, honoring his father’s heroic struggle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

At the age of 23, benShea started as an assistant dean of students at UCLA. By the age of 30, he was a consulting fellow to several esteemed think tanks including the Center for the Humanities at USC and The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara.

benShea’s presentation is the fourth in the Michael A. Moffitt Educational Leadership Lecture Series, which was established by the CLU School of Education in memory of the late CLU alumnus with the support of his wife, Karla Lysdal-Moffitt. Corwin Press is co-sponsoring the event.

The Lundring Events Center is in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, located north of Olsen Road near the corner of Campus Drive in Thousand Oaks.

Reservations are requested. To RSVP or for more information, contact Kristine Calara at (805) 493-3837 or kcalara@callutheran.edu.