Framingham State Kicks off Lecture Series

By John Swinconeck
Boston.com
September 10, 2013

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/framingham/2013/09/framingham_state_kicks_off_lecture_series.html

Framingham State University will kick off its 2013-2014 lecture series with a performance by Michael Mack, based on his experience during the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal.

Mack will perform his one-man show “Conversations with My Molester: A Journey of Faith” on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Dwight Hall Performing Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Mack will recount how his dream to become a priest in the 1960s came to an end after he was abused, how he wrestled with sexuality, spirituality, and his confrontation with the abuser. Directed by Daniel Gidron, Mack's monologue premiered at the 10-year anniversary of Boston's clergy sexual abuse crisis, according to Framingham State.

The university’s President’s Distinguished Lecture Series was created in 2011 to bring scholars from across the country to the college for presentations on thought-provoking issues, ideas and theories. This year’s theme is “Live to the Truth.” Other speakers include:

Damien Echols, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at Dwight Performing Arts Center.Echols was one of the “Memphis Three” falsely convicted of killing three boys, and spent 18 years on death row before being released in 2011.The West Memphis Three have been the subject of “Paradise Lost,” a three-part documentary series produced by HBO, and “West of Memphis,” a documentary produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Echols is the author of “Almost Home” and “Life After Death,” and will address the campus along with his wife Lorri

Davis.

Harry Markopolos, Feb. 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the McCarthy Center. Markopolos is a former securities industry executive and an independent forensic accounting and financial fraud investigator, who uncovered Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme. Markopolos will candidly explain his long fight to “gift wrap and deliver” Madoff’s plans to the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the university.