SU’s University Lectures series announces lineup of speakers for 2004-05

SU’s University Lectures series announceslineup of speakers for 2004-05July 28, 2004Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Tobias Wolff, Maya Lin, P.J. O’Rourke and Bill Moyers are among the seven outstanding individuals invited as speakers for the 2004-05 season of the University Lectures at Syracuse University.

Now entering its fourth year, the University Lectures builds on a reputation for bringing some of the world’s best-known artists, intellectuals, entertainers and activists to the Hill. The series does this in fulfillment of its mission to provide SU students and faculty and the Syracuse community with opportunities to experience in person the people behind the ideas that shape the world.

“The University Lectures series is becoming known as one of the premier lecture series in the country, which it clearly deserves,” says Vice Chancellor Deborah A. Freund. “We’re proud we can bring these speakers to our students and the community; the series adds unique value to the SU education.”

This year’s lineup includes:

Tobias Wolff, novelist“Old School” at the Old SchoolOct. 7, 4:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

Tobias Wolff’s books include the memoirs “This Boy’s Life” and “In Pharaoh’s Army;” the short novel “The Barracks Thief;” three collections of stories, “In The Garden of the North American Martyrs,” “Back in the World” and “The Night in Question;” and, most recently, the novel “Old School.” He has also edited several anthologies.

His work is translated widely and has received numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Rea Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

P.J. O’Rourke, political satiristAn Evening with P.J. O’RourkeOct. 19, 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

With more than a million words of trenchant journalism under his byline and more citations in The Penguin Dictionary of Humorous Quotations than any other living writer, P.J. O’Rourke has established himself as America’s premier political satirist. His best-selling books include “Parliament of Whores,” “Give War a Chance,” “Eat the Rich” and “The CEO of the Sofa.” Both Time and The Wall Street Journal have called him “the funniest writer in America.” He frequently appears on television, with appearances on outlets including VH-1, “Good Morning America” and C-Span.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicistDestiny in Space: America’s Future on the Frontier of Cosmic Discovery Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

In his career as an astrophyusicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson has focused on the study of dwarf galaxies and the “bulge” at the center of the Milky Way. Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium, where he also teaches.

Paul Goldberger, architecture critic and authorAn Evening with Paul GoldbergerNov. 16, 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

Paul Goldberger, one of the nation’s eminent writers in the fields of architecture, design and urbanism, has been the architecture critic at The New Yorker magazine since July 1997. As The New Yorker’s architecture critic, he continues the magazine’s celebrated “Sky Line” column, a position once held by Lewis Mumford and more recently by Brendan Gill. He is the author of several books, including the text for “The World Trade Center Remembered” and “Manhattan Unfurled.”

Maya Lin, sculptor and architect An Evening With Maya LinMarch 8, 4:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

Maya Lin has won international acclaim for her site-specific art and architecture projects. Since her design for the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C., she has gone on to create art and architecture projects that, in the words of critic Michael Brenson “propose ways of thinking and imagining that resist categories, genres, and borders.”

Robert Egger, activist for the homelessAn Evening with Robert Egger March 29, 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel

Robert Egger is the president and founder of the D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C. He travels extensively, promoting nonprofit innovation to Fortune 500 companies, business schools, college campuses and culinary institutes, among other audiences. The Kitchen was named one of the Thousand Points of Light by President George H.W. Bush, and has been covered by “Oprah,” “Nightline,” “48 Hours,” The Washington Post, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications.

Bill Moyers, television journalistAn Interview with Bill MoyersMarch 2005, date and time TBA in Hendricks Chapel

During his 25 years in broadcasting, Bill Moyers received nearly every major broadcast journalism award, including two prestigious DuPont Columbia Gold Batons and 30 Emmy Awards. A survey of television critics by Television Quarterly places Moyers among the 10 journalists who have had the most significant influence on television news. He was elected to the television Hall of Fame in 1995 and a year later received the Charles Frankel Prize, now the National Humanities Medal.

The University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment in the areas of architecture and design; the humanities and the sciences; and public policy, management and communications. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s Trustees, alumni and friends. The lectures are free and open to the public.

The Office of University Lectures welcomes suggestions for future speakers. To recommend a speaker, or for additional information about the University Lectures, please contact Esther Gray in the Office of Academic Affairs, 443-2941, eegray@syr.edu or visit http://provost.syr.edu/lectures.