Comedian Craig Robinson, politician Ron Paul among MSE Symposium speakers

Actor and comedian Craig Robinson, who played Dunder Mifflin warehouse manager Darryl Philbin for nine seasons on NBC's The Office, will kick off the annual Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium at Johns Hopkins University next month.

Image caption: Actor and comedian Craig Robinson

Robinson, also known for his roles in Pineapple Express and Hot Tub Time Machine among other films, visits the university's Homewood campus on Sept. 10. The appearance, co-sponsored by the HOP, is the first of five events that make up this year's undergraduate-run symposium, titled Learning From Experience: The Path Ahead for Generation Y.

Also scheduled to visit Homewood this fall are Jon Favreau, former director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama (Oct. 2); Kal Penn, actor and former associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (Oct. 8); retired CIA intelligence officers Tony and Jonna Mendez (Tony was portrayed by Ben Affleck in the Academy Award–winning Argo) (Oct. 16); and former Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul (Nov. 1).

All lectures begin at 8 p.m. in Shriver Hall Auditorium. Each talk lasts approximately 45 minutes and is followed by a question-and-answer period and a reception with the speaker.

Established in 1967 to honor the university's eighth president, the annual MSE Symposium is free and open to the public. Students invite renowned speakers and coordinate every aspect of the series in an effort to share a variety of perspectives on issues of national importance. The symposium is led this year by co-chairs Aidan Christofferson, Francesca Pinelli, Elias Rosenblatt, and Aaron Tessler.

The students are selling $90 season passes that will secure seating near the stage. Reserved seats also can be purchased for one event at $25. For details, go to jhu.edu/mse.