Dillard University will welcome renowned gospel artist Kirk Franklin to the campus on Feb 6., an appearance made possible by the university’s signature ‘Brain Food’ presidential lecture series. Franklin will be the latest in a cast of diverse, distinguished presenters on the historic New Orleans HBCU campus this semester, joining Martin Luther King Jr. speechwriter Clarence Jones, CNN Political Analyst Sunny Hostin, and faith-based social justice activist Jim Wallis.

They are a part of a lecture series renaissance on HBCU campuses around the country, thanks to the success of its modern-day patron saint, Dillard President Walter Kimbrough. A scholar on Black Greek-lettered organizations and a veteran presenter on organizational hazing, Kimbrough helped to revive the HBCU lecture series as the former president of Philander Smith College.