The names Tom and Marla Corts have been synonymous with Samford University for three decades. The Tom and Marla Corts Distinguished Author Series is named for Samford’s 17th president and his wife. The series was launched in 2011 to recognize their invaluable leadership to Samford University, the community and the cause of literacy. The event also provides endowment support for Samford’s Orlean Beeson School of Education.

Eric Motley, a beloved Samford University alumnus, will be the featured speaker at the eighth annual event March 1. Motley will speak at 7 p.m. in Leslie S. Wright Fine Arts Center. The lecture’s focus will be on Motley’s personal memoir Madison Park: A Place of Hope, set to release November 2017.