UDALLAS MEDIA ADVISORY: Over 130 Irving-Area Students Invited to Experience the Annual McDermott Lectureship

School District Covers Tickets and Bus Transportation to Lecture

Irving, TX (02/28/2019) — On Tuesday, March 5, 2019, the University of Dallas' annual Eugene McDermott Lecture will be held at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Over 130 Irving-area middle school and high school students will have the opportunity to experience Anthony Doerr's talk on his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "All the Light We Cannot See," thanks to a collaboration between the Study USA and Irving Independent School District. After hearing the students had read the novel in class, Tom Foley, director of the Study USA, coordinated with Irving ISD, enabling the students to participate live in the award-winning author's lecture. A total of four Irving ISD school buses will transport the students to the Morton H. Meyerson Center prior to the event.

"As we educate and introduce our youth to opportunities beyond the classroom, partnerships between universities and local schools are an instrumental component," said Tom Foley, director of the Study USA. "The University of Dallas and Irving Independent School District truly understand this. It is exciting to see the students' classroom learning come to life. We are humbled to be a small part of such a powerful collaboration."

In an effort to encourage the message of reading, over 4,000 Irving-area middle school and high school students have experienced Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "All the Light We Cannot See." In collaboration with the Diocese of Dallas and Irving ISD, this year marked the start of a new university-wide reading initiative, UD Reads, at the University of Dallas. The books were donated and delivered to the schools before the 2018 fall semester began.

The media is invited to experience the excitement as the students arrive at the Morton H. Meyerson Center (2301 Flora St., Dallas, Texas).

WHO: Irving-area high school and middle school students

WHAT: Students arriving at the Morton H. Meyerson Center for the McDermott Lectureship

WHEN: Tuesday, March 5, 2019, at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas, Texas

Lecture Details: McDermott Lecture Tuesday, March 5, 2019 7:30 p.m.

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas, Texas

Tickets are still available at

HIGHLIGHTS: "All the Light We Cannot See" has spent more than three and a half years on The New York Times bestseller list. The novel was additionally praised on more than a dozen year-end lists, including Barnes & Noble, Slate, NPR's Fresh Air, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, Kirkus, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor.

"All the Light We Cannot See" brings Doerr's keen naturalist eye and his empathetic engagement with humanity's largest questions to the parallel stories of Marie, a blind girl living in occupied France, and Werner, a German orphan whose extraordinary mechanical abilities earn him a place among the Nazi elite.

About the McDermott Lectureship

In 1974, the university established the Eugene McDermott Lectureship, an endowed lecture series created in honor of Eugene McDermott, the late scientist, businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. It was established on behalf of Mrs. and Mr. Eugene McDermott in 1974 to honor Donald and Louise Cowan's vision and leadership at the University of Dallas and in the city. Beginning with the venerable historian Jacques Barzun, the McDermott Lectureship continues to bring notable public intellectuals to the university for short courses and seminars.