Fans of the “Hamilton” musical won’t want to miss the inaugural event in the College of Central Florida’s Stearns Speaker Series. Robert Watson, Ph.D., will present “Alexander Hamilton: Man, Myth, Musical” on Monday, Sept. 19, at 12:30 p.m. at the Dassance Fine Arts Center. The lecture will be followed by a reception at 2 p.m. in the college’s Clifford B. Stearns Learning Resources Center.

Dr. Watson is a distinguished professor of American history and an Avron Fogelman research professor at Lynn University. He’ll share the intriguing backstory of Hamilton’s Jewish roots and hardscrabble upbringing as well as a fun fact-check of the musical and a closer look at the history behind some of the show’s iconic scenes.

“The speaker series will provide an opportunity for the college community and citizens in Marion and the surrounding counties to meet and hear from distinguished Americans,” said Cliff Stearns, who established the Friends of Cliff Stearns Endowed Chair through a gift to the CF Foundation in December 2020. The series aims to bring national and regional speakers on history, political science and technology to the CF campus to benefit both students and the community.