'King Corn' Filmmaker Curt Ellis to Speak at Fontbonne

*Editor's note: An earlier version of this article was unclear about which events are open to the public. While convocation is not open to the public, two events listed at the end of this article are open to anyone. This article has been updated accordingly.

Filmmaker and healthy-food advocate Curt Ellis will speak Aug. 29 during convocation at in Clayton, the school announced in a news release. Students at the school will learn about food and food production throughout the fall 2012 semester.

Ellis also co-founded FoodCorps, an AmeriCorps initiative that provides training for leaders who spend a year teaching children in limited-resource areas about healthy food, taking care of school gardens and more.

“Mr. Ellis's work as a filmmaker and with FoodCorps make his the perfect voice to set the tone for our exploration of the many ways food impacts our lives,” stated Jaimette McCulley, dietetics professor and co-chair of the 2012 dedicated semester. “He’ll discuss the ways people can make a difference in the world, focusing specifically on his own experiences with sustainability and food.”

Ellis won the Heinz Award in 2011 for his efforts in the area of sustainable food and shared a 2008 Peabody Award for the documentary King Corn.

Two public events* will be held in connection with the visit by Ellis: