Former first lady on campus for benefit dinner

Laura Bush will be on campus today for a dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Alumni Hall.

The dinner is sponsored by Ivy Tech’s O’Bannon Institute for Community Service and attendees must have a ticket.

Bush’s speech will focus on literacy — a cause she supported in her role as first lady to President George W. Bush.

She has visited the Women’s Teacher Training Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan; convened a Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development; and supports Teach for America, The New Teacher Project and Troops to Teachers. She also launched Ready to Read, Ready to Learn; a program for early childhood development.

The O’Bannon Institute focuses on community service, service learning and civic engagement. It is named for the late Indiana Gov. Frank O’Bannon who helped form Indiana’s community college system.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Ivy Tech Center for Civic Engagement.

— Lindsey Erdody