Cody Keenan, former White House speechwriter for President Barack Obama, will be the speaker for the 2023 Craig W. Barton Speaker Series event at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 30 in Wiedemann Hall.

Seat reservations are required, and the event is free and open to the public. Media are welcome to attend.

Renowned speechwriter and messaging expert Cody Keenan rose from a campaign intern in Chicago to become chief speechwriter at the White House and Barack Obama’s post-presidential collaborator.

Together, Keenan and Obama’s efforts resulted in some of the most unforgettable addresses of our time. From commencement addresses to Selma to Obama’s Farewell Address, they redefined the essence of the American creed and charted an inspiring, optimistic course for a new generation’s active citizenship. Their collaborations have been compared to the works of Abraham Lincoln, described by CNN as “the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech for the 21st century” and categorized as “speeches every child should read in school."

Keenan continues to serve as Obama’s collaborator and post-presidential speechwriter. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir “Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America.” A sought-after expert on politics and current affairs, Keenan is now a partner at the leading speechwriting firm Fenway Strategies, and teaches a popular course on political speechwriting to undergraduates at his alma mater Northwestern University.

The Craig W. Barton Speaker Series is an annual Wichita State event established to expose students and the community to differing points of view and encourage free expression, critical thinking, and the engaging in discourse of various perspectives. In 2022, speaker series hosted its first speaker. Robert M. Gates, U.S. secretary of defense from 2006-2011 and former director of the CIA.

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling almost 22,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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