(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Sept. 11, 2018) - - - Columbia State Community College welcomes Dr. Mark Cheathem, Cumberland University professor of history, to the Ledbetter Auditorium Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. to deliver a lecture on Martin Van Buren, United States eighth president.

The lecture, "Why Is Martin Van Buren Important to Tennessee's History?" will show how Van Buren played an important role in the development of Jacksonian politics. Cheathem will discuss this connection to Tennessee and will explain how the "Papers of Martin Van Buren" project at Cumberland University is helping to clarify this important political era.

"The Columbia State history Department is thrilled to partner with the James K. Polk Home to bring such an accomplished historian as Dr. Mark Cheathem to the college," said Dr. Barry Gidcomb, Columbia State professor of history. "I especially look forward to our history majors having the opportunity to meet Dr. Cheathem and learn more about how a historian goes about his work. As a teacher, author and the director of the Martin Van Buren papers project, Dr. Cheathem offers a wide range of expertise and experience to our students. The audience will also enjoy hearing about Martin Van Buren and the substantial impact he had on Tennessee history."

Cheathem earned a bachelor's degree from Cumberland University, a master's degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a doctorate in history from Mississippi State University. He is also the author and editor of seven books, including "Andrew Jackson, Southerner" which won the 2013 Tennessee History Book Award. His most recent book is "The Coming of Democracy: Presidential Campaigning in the Age of Jackson."

The event is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the Columbia State history department and the Ancestral Home of James K. Polk. The Ledbetter Auditorium is in the Frank G. Clement Building located on the Columbia Campus at 1665 Hampshire Pike.