Award winning journalist, director, and best-selling author Sebastian Junger will present the Docking Lecture on Thursday, March 5, at 11 a.m., in the Richardson Performing Arts Center in the Christy Administration building on the campus of Southwestern College.  Junger became a fixture in the international media when, as a first-time author, he commanded the “New York Times” best-seller list for more than three years with “The Perfect Storm,” which became a major motion picture starring George Clooney.

As part of its Pillars Project, the college focuses each year on one of the virtues celebrated in its alma mater and represented by the Christy pillars of Knowledge, Hope, Courage, and Freedom. The 2014-15 focus on courage inspired the choice of Sebastian Junger to give this year’s Docking Lecture.

Prior to his visit to the college, Southwestern will present a screening of Junger’s critically acclaimed documentary “Restrepo” on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m., in the Richardson Performing Arts Center.  Co-directed with photojournalist Tim Hetherington, “Restrepo” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary and received the 2010 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.  It documents the war in Afghanistan by reporting from the soldiers’ perspectives.

The public is invited to attend both events and there is no admission charge.

Junger and Hetherington worked together in Afghanistan on assignment for “Vanity Fair.” They spent a year with one platoon in the Korengal Valley, which is billed as the deadliest valley in Afghanistan. They recorded video to document their experience, and this footage went on to form the basis for “Restrepo.” The title refers to the outpost where Junger was embedded, which was named after a combat medic, Pfc. Juan Restrepo, killed in action.

The Docking Lecture is underwritten by Union State Bank and by William and Thomas Docking.  The Docking family has played a prominent role in Kansas government and politics for over half a century.  In 1956 George Docking was elected governor of Kansas.  He served two terms, leaving office in 1961.  His son, Robert Docking, was elected governor in 1966 and served four two-year terms, more than any other Kansas governor, leaving office in 1975.  Robert Docking’s sons have continued the family’s commitment to public service.  William Docking was appointed to the Kansas Higher Education Board of Regents in 1995, and served as its chair.  Thomas Docking was lieutenant governor of Kansas from 1983 to 1987, during the governorship of John Carlin.