Yong Zhao, an expert on the implications of globalization and technology in education, will be the featured speaker when the Cal State San Bernardino College of Education hosts its 50th Anniversary Speaker Series on Friday, March 18.

Zhao, who currently serves as the presidential chair and director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he is also a professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership, will speak at 3:30 p.m. at the Santos Manuel Student Union Theater. Livestreaming of the presentation will be available at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus’ Oliphant Auditorium.

Zhao’s talk will focus on “Fixing the Past or Inventing the Future: Education at a Crossroad.”

Admission is free and open to the public to the event, which is sponsored by SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. The college will be accepting donations of new or gently used children’s books on behalf of its community partner, the Inland Empire Children’s Book Project. Book boxes will be located in the lobbies of both venues. Parking at CSUSB is free in Lot D and Parking Structure East.

Register in advance at the Speaker Series Online Registration website.

Zhao has published more than 100 articles and 20 books, including “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon: Why China has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World,” and “Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.”

His latest book, “World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students,” has won several awards, including the Society of Professors of Education Book Award (2013), the Association of Education Publishers’ Judges’ Award and the Distinguished Achievement Award in Education Leadership (2013).

He is a recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association, and was named one of the 10 most influential people in educational technology by the Tech & Learn Magazine in 2012. He is an elected fellow of the International Academy for Education.

Beginning in August, he will join the University of Kansas’ Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the School of Education as the 11th Foundation Professor, and will also hold a courtesy appointment in the School of Business.

Born in China’s Sichuan Province, Zhao received his B.A. in English Language Education from Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in Chongqing, China in 1986. After teaching English in China for six years, he went to Linfield College as a visiting scholar in 1992, followed by his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. He received his A.M. in Education in 1994 and Ph.D. in 1996. He joined the faculty at Michigan State University in 1996 after working as the language center coordinator at Willamette University and a language specialist at Hamilton College.

The speaker series will continue on May 20, when Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, will present “Retooling for the Future.”

For more information on the CSUSB College of Education 50th Anniversary Speaker Series, contact Mick Verdi, associate dean, at (909) 537-7530 or email mverdi@csusb.edu.

Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50thanniversary in 2015-2016, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.

For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.