President Barack Obama to Headline the 2026 Salem State Series

Barrack Obama

Mark your calendars: former President Barack Obama is coming to Salem State University. The 44th president of the United States will take the stage on September 21, 2026, as the featured speaker for this year's Salem State Series.

About the Salem State Series

Founded in 1982, the Salem State Series is one of the oldest and most prestigious high-profile speaker series in the country. Over more than four decades, it has brought a remarkable roster of world leaders, artists, athletes, and intellectuals to the university's North Shore campus, drawing thousands of patrons each year. The self-supporting series is made possible through the generosity of corporate and individual sponsors and remains a cornerstone of the university's public education mission.

Past speakers have included an extraordinary range of names — from sitting and former U.S. presidents like Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, to cultural and civic icons such as Maya Angelou, Desmond Tutu, Colin Powell, Jane Goodall, David McCullough, Tom Brady, John Legend, David Ortiz, and Amal Clooney.

A Look at President Obama's Legacy

Barack Obama was born in Hawaiʻi on August 4, 1961, and raised with the help of his grandparents. After graduating from Columbia University, he moved to Chicago's South Side, where he worked as a community organizer helping to improve housing conditions and set up job-training programs. He went on to Harvard Law School, becoming the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, before returning to Chicago as a civil rights attorney.

He served in the Illinois Senate starting in 1996 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. In 2008, Obama made history as the first African American elected president, taking office amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. During his two terms, he helped guide the country's economic recovery, passed the Affordable Care Act, wound down two long-running wars, and helped broker the Paris Agreement on climate change. In 2009, he became the fourth sitting U.S. president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since leaving office, Obama has focused on cultivating the next generation of leaders through the Obama Foundation, which runs leadership programs across the globe. That work continues through the newly opened Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side.

Tickets

Tickets for the September 2026 Salem State Series go on sale July 15. Fans and community members can purchase tickets online once sales open, and ticket office questions can be directed to the Salem State Series office (Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.) at seriestickets@salemstate.edu or 978-542-7555.

This will be a landmark moment for the Salem State Series and for the North Shore community — a rare chance to hear directly from one of the most consequential political figures of the 21st century.

For more information and ticket updates, visit Salem State Series | Salem State University

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