More than 500 Saint Joseph-area residents dined with New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman. He’s the featured speaker for Missouri Western’s Convocation on Critical Issues.

Convocation founder Dan Boulware says the Convocation has pursued Friedman for several years and is glad to have him.

The columnist and author addressed the convocation dinner Monday, and is scheduled to address the convocation at 9:30am today in the Looney Complex. The Convocation is free and open to the public.