Dr. Maya Angelou, hailed as a global renaissance woman, is the first speaker Monday, Oct. 24, in the 2011-2012 Distinguished Speakers Series at The University of Texas-Pan American. Her presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Auditorium. The public is invited to hear Angelou, who is renown worldwide as a poet, memoirist, novelist, educator dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist.

Angelou has written more than 30 best selling books and continues to make frequent appearances on television and in films. Her script for the movie "Georgia, Georgia," the first by an African-American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Angelou has received a long list of recognitions for her accomplishments, including three Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000. She has received more than 30 honorary degrees and is the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C

The event is free and open to the public but seating is limited. Doors will open at 7 p.m. for UTPA students, faculty and staff with a valid UTPA ID and at 7:20 p.m. for the general public. Those unable to attend can view the presentation live at www.utpa.edu/live. For more information or special accommodations, call 665-7989.