Tickets on sale for Judson's spring World Leaders Forum

Tickets are on sale for Judson University's seventh World Leaders Forum April 19 featuring former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former presidential candidate Howard Dean.

The 2018 World Leaders Forum will feature a community event at 2 p.m. at Judson's Herrick Chapel, 1151 N. State St., Elgin, and a VIP reception at 5 p.m. in Chicago. Both events will include question-and-answer sessions. Its theme is "A Bipartisan Conversation About Leadership in Divided Times."

Gingrich and Dean, the former governor of Vermont, will discuss the challenges and opportunities of global leadership and answer audience questions at both events.

Tickets for the community event start at $65 and are available at WorldLeadersForum.info.

The forum is Judson's signature fundraising event. Proceeds support entrepreneurial programs and initiatives, and scholarships at the university.

It has featured several former world leaders: former President George W. Bush, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Mexican President Felipe Calderón, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Queen Noor of Jordan.

This year's forum was canceled after Ben Carson bowed out in January and officials were unable to secure another speaker on short notice.

The former Republican presidential candidate was unable to keynote the April 20 event because of his nomination to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Gingrich was elected to the U.S. House in 1978 and served until 1999, during which he served as the House minority whip and its 50th speaker. He was a Republican presidential candidate in 2012. He is a Fox News contributor, senior adviser at Dentons law firm and senior scientist with Gallup.

Dean served as the governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003. He was a Democratic presidential candidate in 2004. He also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009.