Lisa Ling, a special correspondent for the National Geographic Channel and the Oprah Winfrey Show, will deliver her speech, "China's Lost Girls," at the Cox Auditorium Monday, Sept 29, at 7:30 p.m.

The focus of Ling's speech will be on China's one-child policy, which has caused Chinese families to abandon baby girls, which are in turn adopted by American couples. She will talk about how the disparity between the number of girls and boys affects China's economy. The event will be co-sponsored by the Issues Committee and UT's Asian American Association.

Ashleigh Moyer, assistant director of student activities, said it is a very important topic that needs to be covered. She said the Issues Committee looks for topics like this when planning for potential speakers.

"It could be anything from the environment to child labor laws," Moyer said. "The students try not to focus on one thing like politics; they try to bring in a variety of things."

Christie Sithiphone, president of the Asian American Association, said, "Lisa Ling is an excellent reporter, and it'll be interesting to see her take on global issues since she has traveled to so many places."

At 16, Ling was one of the hosts of a nationally syndicated teen magazine show "Scratch." She was also a reporter for Channel One, covering the civil war in Algeria and the Kosovo refugee crisis in Albania.

In 1999, Ling co-hosted "The View" with Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Joy Behar and Star Jones. Ling was the first female host of National Geographic's Emmy award-winning flagship series, "Explorer."

The Issues Committee will continue its series of speakers throughout the year with Sir John Boyd, C. L. Lindsay, Brian Fagan, Anya Kamenetz and Jeff Corwin.