Acclaimed journalist Ed Gordon to visit Syracuse University for Empowering Minds Conference March 28

Acclaimed journalist Ed Gordon to visit Syracuse University for Empowering Minds Conference March 28March 20, 2008Carol K. Masiclatclkim@syr.edu

Once again, Syracuse University’s Empowering Minds Movement will bring hundreds of local high school students to campus for a day of learning, networking and inspiration as part of the Empowering Minds Conference (EMC). The event will take place Friday, March 28, from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at various locations on the SU campus. Open to high school sophomores and juniors at Henniger, Fowler, Corcoran and Nottingham high schools, EMC gives them a taste of life on the SU campus and as a college student. Television and radio journalist Ed Gordon will deliver the keynote address.

“This year’s conference will be great,” says Kyle A. B. Coleman, executive director of Empowering Minds. “We will highlight Scholarship in Action by strengthening the relationship between SU and the greater Syracuse community, letting a wide array of students put their skills to use and getting kids excited about college.”

In its third year, EMC is an entirely student-produced event. The Empowering Minds Movement is a group of student leaders at SU whose members seek to engage Syracuse-area youths with the intellectual challenges and opportunities of a college education. The organization was founded by SU students in 2005, and has been organized and presented by an all-student team each year since. Last year, more than 250 area high school students attended the conference.

Attendees of this year’s event will enjoy performances by SU multicultural student organizations; a luncheon with SU students, faculty and staff; and a full schedule of workshops. Discussion topics include: leadership and civic engagement; discrimination and society; education and beyond; and health and wellness.

Gordon, former host of NPR’s “News and Notes with Ed Gordon,” is a contributing correspondent on the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes,” and host of “Our World with Black Enterprise.” He has appeared on “The Today Show” and “Dateline NBC,” and is the former host of “BET Tonight” and creator of the interview series “Conversation with Ed Gordon.” Gordon also served as an anchor of BET News. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Emmy and the NAACP Image Award. Gordon was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. Following the luncheon, Gordon will give a special presentation to the teachers and counselors who accompanied the students.

Following the workshop sessions, the students and EMC team will gather for a class photo in front of the Hall of Languages at 1 p.m.

This event is sponsored by Empowering Minds, the Office of the Chancellor and SU’s National Association of Black Journalists chapter.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Syracuse city high schools for their support and encouragement of the outstanding students who attend EMC and for making it possible for them to travel to campus for this extraordinary program,” says Juanita Perez Williams, associate dean of students.

For more information, including a schedule of the day’s events, contact Coleman at kacolema@syr.edu.