Ringling College Library Association has announced the lineup for its 44th Town Hall, which returns in January 2025.   

Kicking off the series is actor Glenn Close. Close has been nominated for an Academy Award eight times, starting with her feature film debut in The World According to Garp, and has also earned several Tony Awards for her performances in shows like The Real Thing, Death and the Maiden and Sunset Boulevard.

In February, four-time super bowl champion Rob Gronkowski will take the stage. After two final NFL seasons as a tight end with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and nine with the New England Patriots, Gronkowski retired from the NFL in 2022. "Gronk," as he’s known to his fans, is widely admired his fun-loving spirit and ability to triumph over significant injuries in his football career, which earned him the 2014 Comeback Player of the Year award at the 2015 ESPY Awards.

In mid-March, Dr. Moiya McTier joins Town Hall. McTier is an astrophysicist, folklorist and science communicator based in New York City. In 2022, she released her debut book, The Milky Way: An Autobiography of our Galaxy to critical acclaim. In 2023, the Human Artistry Campaign, a large coalition formed to represent the interests of artists’ organizations in the realm of AI, hired her as its voice and lead advocate.  Her mission is to help people understand the world around us better through science.

Later that month, former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster will share insights from his long career. McMaster was the 25^th assistant to the President for National Security Affairs who served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for 34 years before retiring as a lieutenant general in June 2018. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a Distinguished University Fellow at Arizona State University, and a lecturer at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Finally, in mid-April 2025, Dr. Anthony Fauci will close the 2025 Town Hall season. Fauci is perhaps the most recognized figure in public health and policy in modern time. With a career bookended by the HIV/AIDs and Covid-19 pandemics, his impact spanned seven presidents, covered 50 years of public service, and touched billions of lives. Fauci’s memoir, On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service (out June 18, 2024), chronicles his fascinating life story from his childhood in Brooklyn to his 50-year career as one of the most influential figures in public health.

All five Town Hall lectures will be presented at Van Wezel Performing Arts Center. Morning lectures begin at 10:30 a.m. and evening talks begin at 7:30 p.m.  The series is sold by subscription, which will open for members in May and for the general public in June. For more information, click here.