Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former presidential hopeful, plans to bring the Register for Change tour to Saint Louis University on Saturday.

Students can gather to hear the former governor of Vermont speak in Georgetown parking lot behind Griesedieck Tower at 2:45 p.m., according to a DNC press release.

Dean has been canvassing the country on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change. He will be speaking about the importance of collegiate voters in the 2008 election.

College Democrats President Lauren Khouri said she expects Dean to speak for about one hour, “getting students excited.”

“We couldn’t think of a better way to get people excited about the campaign than the chairman of the Democratic National Committee coming,” Khouri said.

The event is something of a surprise. Obama’s St. Louis office officially announced Dean’s stop on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

“Things like this . have been virtually impossible to plan in advance,” Khouri said. “I think it says a lot that he’s coming to Saint Louis University. . He knows that SLU is a university for the community.”

SLU students aren’t the only young voters the College Democrats hope to reach out to this weekend. Khouri said “the bigger the crowd the better” and said she wants students from surrounding universities to take advantage of SLU’s central location in Midtown.

“[This is] an event we’re trying to have for all students in the area,” Khouri said.

Personnel will be on hand to register students to vote in the November election, Khouri said.

The event will mark Dean’s second visit to SLU in recent years. He attended the College Democrats National Convention when it was held on campus in the summer of 2006.

Dean will also speak at the University of Missouri-Columbia on Saturday morning.