September 4, 2009
Westfield State College will be host to internationally known speakers on a variety of topics for the college’s 2009-2010 Foundation Speaker Series. The series will start Monday, Sept. 21, with The New York Times columnist Frank Rich. Each event is free and open to the public.
Other scheduled fall speakers include best selling author Daniel Pink on Oct. 5, Jon Bauman appearing as his alter ego Bowzer, leader of the Sha Na Na group, on Nov. 21; and novelist Elinor Lipman on Dec. 8.
Scheduled during the spring semester are radio host Dr. Michael Eric Dyson on Feb. 4, members of the satirical website The Onion on Feb. 24, political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski on March 3, feminist leader Gloria Steinem on March 31, and author Greg Mortenson on Apr. 29.
The Westfield State College Foundation Speaker Series, initiated by President Evan S. Dobelle, is in its second full year of bringing internationally known speakers to Western Massachusetts.
“The college is pleased to be a venue for speakers who have an important impact nationally and internationally, whether it be through politics, literature, music or humor,” Dobelle said. “This is one of the ways an academic institution can and should engage and enrich our neighbors.”
Rich’s weekly column helped inaugurate the expanded opinion pages the paper introduced in the Sunday Week in Review section in 2005. Before writing his column, Rich served as the Times’ chief drama critic. He received the George Polk award for commentary in 2005, which honors contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. His latest book, The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina, was published in 2006.
Pink is the author of a trio of best-selling books on the changing world of work. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations need in an outsourced, automated age. Pink previously worked in the White House, where he served from 1997-1999 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore.
Bauman will present Bowzer’s R-n-R Party. The contrast between mild-mannered Bauman and his creation and alter-ego has raised a lot of eyebrows in the entertainment industry, because Bauman’s portrayal of Bowzer was so convincing that the casual observer thought Bowzer walked the streets of Brooklyn when not performing. Bauman has surfaced as one of the most multi-dimensional performers in show business today.
Lipman is the author of eight novels about contemporary American society, and a collection of short stories. She received the New England Book Award for fiction in 2001. Her novel, Then She Found Me, was adapted into a 2007 feature film, directed by and starring Helen Hunt. Her novels The Ladies Man and The Pursuit of Alice Thrift are in pre-production as feature films.
Dyson, first of the spring series speakers, is an American academic, author, and radio host. He received a Ph.D in religion from Princeton University and is an ordained minister. Dyson has taught at DePaul University, Chicago Theological Seminary, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Columbia University, Brown University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Since 2001, Dyson has been university professor of sociology at Georgetown University. He is also a regular commentator on National Public Radio and the HBO TV program Real Time with Bill Mahr.
The Onion is a Peabody award-winning, American “fake-news” organization. It features satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news. The Onion’s articles comment on current events, both real and imagined. It parodies traditional newspaper features, such as editorial man-on-the-street interviews, stock quotes, traditional newspaper layout, and AP-style editorial voice.
Brzezinski is a Polish-born American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman. He served as national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. He is currently professor of American foreign policy at John Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He is a frequent guest on the PBS program The Newshour with Jim Lehr.
Steinem rose to national prominence as a feminist leader in 1969. She was a founder of New York Magazine in the 1960s and broke ground in 1963 with an investigative report on how the women of Playboy were treated. In the 1970s, she became a leading political leader and one of the most important heads of second-wave feminism, the women’s rights movement of the 1960s and 70s.
She founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, became founding editor of Ms. magazine, and actively campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment. She also founded/co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Women’s Media Center, and Choice USA.
Mortenson is co-founder of the non-profit Central Asia Institute, founder of Pennies for Peace, and co-author of New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea. In March 2009, Mortsenon received Pakistan’s highest civil award, Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) for his dedication and humanitarian effort to promote education and literacy in rural areas for 15 years.
Several bipartisan U.S. Congressional representatives nominated Mortenson for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Morteson has dedicated his life to promote education, especially for girls in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
As of 2009, Mortenson has established more than 90 schools in rural and often volatile regions, which provide education to more than 34,000 children. TV newscaster Tom Brokaw calls Mortenson, “one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, who is really changing the world.”
For more information on the speaker series, contact Joanne Bigelow, director of event management, at 413-572-5580. For the most up-to-date schedule visit www.wsc.ma.edu/speakerseries.
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