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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler will deliver the annual Gov. Tom McCall Memorial Lecture at Oregon State University on Thursday, May 31.

His talk, "Investing in Oregon's Future," begins at 7 p.m. in the Construction and Engineering Hall of the LaSells Stewart Center. It is free and open to the public. A question and answer session and public reception will follow.

In his talk, Wheeler will address how, in an era of budget cuts and sluggish economic growth, the state of Oregon is targeting its resources by investing in education and in entrepreneurs and small business creation. According to Wheeler, tackling the state's pressing issues - education gaps, an aging population, and constrained public resources - means finding solutions that blur the line of traditional government in order for Oregon to compete in a global marketplace and thrive. 

Before entering elected office as State Treasurer in 2010, Wheeler worked in the financial services industry. He was elected in 2006 as the chief executive of Multnomah County, where he oversaw a workforce of more than 4,400 and was responsible for reducing and balancing the budget.

Wheeler was born in Portland, and graduated from Lincoln High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University, an MBA from Columbia University and a master's in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Wheeler is a longtime community volunteer leader who has worked with diverse organizations including Neighborhood House, Portland Mountain Rescue, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Oregon Sports Authority.

The OSU lectureship is named after Tom McCall, who was Oregon's governor from 1967-75.

Notable speakers from different careers have included Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, Washington Post columnists David Broder and William Raspberry; Oregon political analyst Floyd McKay; Dennis Dimick of National Geographic magazine, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The McCall Lecture is presented by the OSU College of Liberal Arts.