JES Announces 2025 Global Summit Headliner  

Jefferson Educational Society to host famed astrophysicist 

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Oct. 29 as part of 2025 Global Summit 

 

ERIE, Pa. (Jan. 9, 2025) – Following a record-setting Global Summit speaker series in 2024, the Jefferson Educational Society is announcing its 2025 Global Summit headliner: famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.  

 

Dr. Tyson will present, “This Just In: Latest Discoveries in the Universe” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29. The event will be held at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center, 1 Sassafras Pier. 

 

“We were so energized and encouraged by the excitement around 2024’s Global Summit that our team couldn’t wait to start planning 2025’s lineup,” said Jefferson President Dr. Ferki Ferati, referring to record crowds at the 2024 Summit, including the largest crowd to attend a ticketed educational event locally — a conversation between former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and Benedictine Sisters theologian, author, and speaker Sister Joan Chittister. It drew more than 3,300 people to the Bayfront Convention Center. “We are thrilled to be building on last year’s momentum and to be announcing a headliner of Dr. Tyson’s caliber this early – the earliest ever for a Global Summit announcement,” Dr. Ferati noted. 

 

Known for bringing the mysteries and marvels of the cosmos down to Earth, making complex topics accessible to learners of all ages, Tyson is just the fifth director of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium in New York City since 1935 and is the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. 

 

Tickets, which begin at just $25, can be purchased on the think tank’s website, JESErie.org, by calling the JES at 814.459.8000, or visiting the Jefferson at 3207 State St., beginning at noon Thursday, Jan. 9. Like all JES events, the event is free to students with proof of enrollment upon registration. 

 

The Global Summit, which has garnered national attention for the world-class authors, researchers, reporters, and thinkers it brings to Erie, is hosted each year by the JES in cooperation with numerous major sponsors, including LECOM Health and Erie Insurance, among many others.  

 

For more information, please contact: 

Ben Speggen  
Vice President 
Jefferson Educational Society 

814.459.8000 

Speggen@JESErie.org