Penn State announces 2004-05 Distinguished Speaker Series lineup

Penn State announces 2004-05 Distinguished Speaker Series lineup

University Park, Pa. –- The 2004-05 Distinguished Speaker Series brings to University Park four internationally known figures, including an outspoken political pundit, a former governor and candidate for Democratic nomination for president, an award-winning journalist, and a beloved American poet, novelist and activist.

The scheduled speakers are:

Robert Novak at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 29, in Eisenhower Auditorium: Offering the determined analysis and straight talk that’s come to be expected of him from viewers of CNN’s "Crossfire," Novak gives his audiences up-to-the-minute overviews of what’s happening in American politics. As a founding author of the nationally syndicated “Inside Report,” Novak has had a profound influence on generations of politicians and journalists. The column, nearing its 40th anniversary, continues its reputation for incisive reporting on today’s most pressing issues. In addition to his work on “Crossfire,” Novak serves as a commentator on CNN’s “Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields” program and heads the political roundtable “The Capital Gang.” He also appears regularly on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and is co-publisher of “The Evans-Novak Political Report.” With his finger on the pulse of national and global change, Novak offers the wisdom of his decades in the field. He has covered history-making events around the world and interviewed the leaders responsible. His books, written in collaboration with Rowland Evans, include volumes on Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Reagan. He recently published his latest work, “Completing the Revolution: A Vision of Victory in 2000.”

Tickets for Robert Novak’s appearance are available Sept. 22-24.

Howard Dean at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28, in Eisenhower Auditorium: All eyes were on the former Vermont governor as he mounted an influential campaign as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President throughout 2003. Dean’s campaign helped focus on important issues such as health care and the creation of jobs and was successful in mobilizing voters historically apathetic toward the political process with his message of revitalizing democracy and returning power to ordinary Americans. Since pulling out of the presidential race, Dean has formed a new organization, Democracy for America. The organization focuses on building progressive policies that will have positive impact on the country. As governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2002, Dean is recognized for cracking down on violent crime, protecting family farms, increasing the number of women and minorities in prominent positions, and putting Vermont in the forefront for child-support collections. Dean is a physician who previously shared a medical practice with his wife. In addition to his appointment as governor, Dean served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives (1983-85) and as lieutenant governor of the state (1986-1991).

Tickets for Howard Dean’s appearance are available Oct. 18-20.

Soledad O’Brien at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26, in Eisenhower Auditorium: A familiar face to morning TV viewers, O’Brien anchors “American Morning” with Bill Hemmer. Based in New York, she began anchoring CNN’s flagship morning program in July 2003 when she joined the network. O’Brien came to CNN from NBC News, where she’d anchored the network’s “Weekend Today” since 1999. During that time, she contributed reports for the “Today Show” and “NBC Nightly News.” Adding to O’Brien’s prominence as a journalist was her coverage of the death of John Kennedy Jr., the deadly school shootings in Columbine, Colo., the space shuttle Columbia disaster, and the war in Iraq. In addition to work on CNN and NBC, O’Brien anchored or worked in various reporting and producing capacities for MSNBC and two NBC affiliate stations. Her work has been honored several times, including an Emmy for her work as a co-host on Discovery Channel’s “The Know Zone.”

Tickets for Soledad O’Brien’s appearance are available Jan. 17-19.

Alice Walker at 8 p.m. on Monday, March 21, at Eisenhower Auditorium: A world-renowned poet, novelist, short-story writer, essayist and biographer, Walker reached the pinnacle of literary success when she won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for fiction for her book “The Color Purple.” Among her other works are two collections of short stories, four volumes of poetry, two collections of essays, two children’s books, and four other novels, including “Possessing the Secret of Joy,” which spent 15 weeks on the “New York Times” Best Seller list. Published in 1997, her autobiographical essay, “Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer’s Activism,” showcased Walker’s commitment to activism in its cultural, political and spiritual forms. Her quest to bring to light worldwide human rights issues includes her serving as executive producer of an independent film “Warrior Marks,” a documentary on the subject of female genital mutilation. She also collaborated on a companion book to the movie in 1993. Walker’s work has appeared in national and international publications and has been lauded with numerous prestigious awards.

Tickets for Alice Walker’s appearance are available March 14-16.

The Distinguished Speaker Series is sponsored by the University Park Allocation Committee and coordinated by the Distinguished Speaker Series Committee and the Office of Student Activities. Funded by student activity fees, the series is free and open to the public.

Tickets are required for the events and may be obtained from the Eisenhower Auditorium box office on the days mentioned above from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets also are distributed at the HUB-Robeson Center outlet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday-Friday, and the Downtown Theatre Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday. Two free tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis consistent with the following schedule:

First day of availability: University Park students (with Penn State ID) only; second day: University Park students, staff and faculty (with Penn State ID) only; third day: general public.

The Distinguished Speaker Series Committee will consider at least two University departments to co-sponsor each speaker. There is a $400 donation (to be used to defray reception costs), which includes 15 VIP seats at the speech, 15 tickets to the reception (when applicable), two student invitations to dinner (when applicable), and co-sponsorship of publicity prior to and at the event.

Co-sponsoring a Distinguished Speaker is a great opportunity to meet guests on a more personal level. Co-sponsors are limited to one speaker per year. If interested, please contact Judy Albin at jaa4@psu.edu or (814) 863-3786.

For more information, contact the Office of Student Activities at 814-863-3786 or stop by 207 HUB-Robeson Cultural Center.

For photos of the speakers, go to http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2004_09_02_dss/index.html