Paul Burka, senior executive editor of Texas Monthly, will present the Max and Georgiana Lale Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 22, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom. The lecture is presented by the East Texas Historical Association and begins at 8 pm.

Burka, a native Texan who grew up in Galveston, holds a bachelor's degree from Rice University and a law degree from the University of Texas. He worked for five years as an attorney in the Texas Senate before joining Texas Monthly in 1974, in the magazine's second year of publication, and has worked there for 37 years, writing extensively about Texas history and politics.

Burka is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the Texas Philosophical Society. In addition to his articles in Texas Monthly, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers. He has discussed politics on all of the major TV networks and lives in Austin with his wife, Sarah.

The lecture series is named for Max and Georgiana Lale in honor of their support and beneficence. Max Simms Lale served as the publisher of the Marshall Herald-Banner and was a tireless advocate of print journalism. He wrote extensively on East Texas history and served as the president of the Texas State Historical Association and the East Texas Historical Association. Lale passed away in 2006. He was married to Georgiana Lale who volunteered and supported historic preservation efforts throughout Marshall and East Texas from 1938 until her death in 1982.

There is no charge for the event, which is open to the public. For more information, contact the association at (936) 468-2407 or e-mail sosebeem@sfasu.edu.