HAMILTON, N.Y. - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Colgate University in April 2009 as part of the Global Leaders Lecture Series.

On Friday, April 3, Powell is scheduled to give a public talk at Colgate. More details about the lecture, including time and ticket information, will be released at a later date.

Before becoming secretary of state, Powell served as a key aide to the secretary of defense and as national security advisor to President Reagan. He also served 35 years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of four-star general. Powell is the author of his best-selling autobiography, My American Journey.

The Global Leaders Lecture Series, sponsored by Colgate's Parents' and Grandparents' Fund, allows the university to invite high-profile guests to campus.

Last April, nearly 5,000 people packed into Sanford Fieldhouse to hear the Dalai Lama offer words of wisdom about achieving happiness. His Holiness also shared many personal moments with members of the campus and local communities during luncheons and discussions held during his two-day visit.

Other lecture series speakers have included Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, award-winning authors of Freakanomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.