Chuck Hagel and Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senators for Nebraska, will discuss civil discourse and its impacts on the state’s future during the first Heuermann Lecture of the season Oct. 22.

The free lecture, sponsored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive.

Hagel was the 24th secretary of defense, serving from February 2013 to February 2015. He is the only Vietnam veteran and the first enlisted combat veteran to be secretary of defense. He also served two terms in the U.S. Senate from 1997-2009. He was a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Intelligence committees. Prior to being elected senator, Hagel was president of McCarthy and Company, an investment banking firm based in Omaha, and chairman of the board of American Information Systems.

Kerrey is managing director at investment banking firm Allen and Company, based in New York. He is also the executive chairman of the Minerva Institute. Kerrey served two terms in the U.S. Senate from 1989-2001. He was on the Senate's Agriculture and Forestry Committee and was a leader in drafting farm legislation, soil and water conservation statutes, and regulations to promote equity in rural health, communication and transportation. Prior to serving in the Senate, Kerrey was Nebraska's governor for four years. He also served three years in the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War and received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service as a Navy SEAL.

Heuermann Lectures are funded by a gift from B. Keith and Norma Heuermann of Phillips. The Heuermanns are longtime university supporters with a strong commitment to Nebraska’s production agriculture, natural resources, rural areas and people.

Lectures are streamed live at http://heuermannlectures.unl.edu/ and air live on campus channel 4. Lectures are archived after the event and are later broadcast on NET2.