Social activist Cornel West will speak at 4:15 p.m. Thursday at Connecticut College's Palmer Auditorium. The event is open to the public.

West’s visit to the campus coincides with the 10th anniversary of the college’s opening of its Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity. West was the inaugural speaker a decade ago.

West and faculty members will spend Friday afternoon in downtown New London learning about opportunities for hands-on teaching and research, community service, and arts and entertainment.

West is described as an American philosopher, academic, social activist, author and public intellectual. He is professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary and professor emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Harvard, Yale and the University of Paris. He is the author of more than 20 books, including “Race Matters,” “Democracy Matters” and his memoir, “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.” He is a frequent guest on the Bill Maher Show, the Colbert Report, CNN, C-Span and Democracy Now.