Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- Retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers will speak at Kansas State University about military families.

The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will speak at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Little Theatre in the K-State Student Union. The presentation is titled "A National Perspective on the Transitioning and Reintegration of Our Military and Families."

The College of Human Ecology's Institute for the Health and Security of Military Families is hosting the lecture. The institute addresses the health and resiliency of military personnel, veterans and their families through research, academic outreach and clinical service programs.

Myers' lecture is part of this fall's Season of Service program, military traditions events during the university's 150th birthday, said Briana Nelson Goff, director of the Institute and professor in the school of family studies and human services. The university is considered a pre-eminent military-inclusive university.

"K-State's Season of Service recognizes these efforts and provides opportunities, like the lecture by Gen. Myers, to reflect on past successes and develop new productive partnerships while focusing on the challenges military and families face in the transition and reintegration process," Nelson Goff said.

The lecture is open to the public and would be of interest to the campus and military communities, families and community stakeholders, she said. Myers' 2010 book "Eyes on the Horizon" will be available for purchase and signing at the event. The memoir details Myers' military career and the days before and after Sept. 11.

Myers, who grew up in Johnson County, graduated from Kansas State University in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and he served in the Air Force for more than 40 years. The university's Gen. Richard B. Myers Hall, home to both the Army and Air Force ROTC programs, is named in his honor. Myers presented the 118th Landon Lecture in 2000 at Kansas State University.