Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, a celebrated Harvard professor who found himself in the middle of a racial controversy in July 2009 when police arrested him outside of his home, will speak at Northwestern in February, according to a comment made by University President Morton Schapiro at a public event on Thursday afternoon.

The exact date of the event, as well as who is bringing Gates to campus, is unknown. Schapiro mentioned the upcoming appearance in a question to Gwen Ifill during the 2010 Minow Lecture in Communication.

In forming his question to Ifill, Schapiro said he will ask Gates to speak about the controversy, which famously ended in a “beer summit” between Gates, arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Gates, like Ifill, is a host on PBS. A tenured Harvard professor and director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Gates was once called “the nation’s most famous black scholar” by political journalist Michael Kinsey.

Schapiro’s comment marked the second time this quarter that he revealed someone coming to campus. Last month, at the annual convocation for incoming freshmen, he accidentally announced that Snoop Dogg and Kid Cudi will perform at A&O Productions’ Fall Blowout Show on Oct. 15.

Check back for updates throughout the night and more information in Friday’s newspaper.

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