AMES, Iowa - Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden will give a lecture this week for Iowa State University.
Snowden leaked top secret documents in 2013that detailed mass U.S. government surveillance programs.
He been living in exile in Russia since then, and his speech for Iowa State will be carried live on YouTube from Moscow.
Snowden has denied conclusions of a Congressional investigation that said he was a disgruntled worker who damaged national security and was in contact with Russian intelligence services.
He was granted permanent Russian residency in November.
Snowden has been characterized as both a traitor for leaking U.S. intelligence, and a hero for revealing abuse by American intelligence agencies in monitoring online activity of people around the world.
A release from Iowa State University said Snowden's actions "launched a discussion of individual privacy and national security."