The principal scholar of the rhetoric of Dwight Eisenhower will present the fourth annual Emil C. Weis Lecture today at Southeast Missouri State University.

Dr. Martin Medhurst, coordinator of the program in presidential rhetoric at Texas A&M University, will present the lecture. Medhurst is a professor of speech communication.

The lecture, "Why Isocrates Would Have Liked Ike: Moral Character and Political Appeal in the Eisenhower Era," is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Crisp Hall Room 125. A reception will follow.

Medhurst has written numerous articles and two books on Eisenhower's rhetoric.

Dr. Tom Harte, who chairs Southeast's speech communication and theatre department, said Medhurst likely will discuss moral character and authority as they pertain to the presidency.