Antwone Fisher to Kick Off UB Distinguished Speakers Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Distinguished Speakers Series at the University at Buffalo will have a decidedly Western New York flavor for 2003-04, with three speakers boasting of roots in the area -- and one being a UB alumnus.

The series, which will begin its 17th season this fall, will feature Antwone Fisher, author and Hollywood producer and screenwriter; UB alumnus, Kenmore native and CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer; comedian and author Bill Cosby; Lockport native and acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates, and Buffalo-born journalist Tim Russert.

Moreover, this year's Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative program will feature two speakers from different sides of the political aisle -- Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the NAACP, and Republican J.C. Watts, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives discussing key aspects of the current and future state of civil rights.

The Distinguished Speakers Series is presented by UB and its Office of Special Events and the Don Davis Auto World Lectureship Fund. UB's undergraduate Student Association is the series sponsor.

"The annual Distinguished Speakers Series is a terrific opportunity for our students, faculty, staff and neighbors in Western New York to have first-hand exposure to some of the nation's most influential people, and it's also a welcome opportunity for UB to share our resources with the larger Buffalo community," said UB President William R. Greiner. "It's a source of great pride for us that the series has proven so popular, both on and off campus, over the years.

"We're excited about this year's lineup, especially since it features so many of our region's home-grown heroes, including UB graduate Wolf Blitzer, Buffalo-born broadcast journalist Tim Russert and Lockport native Joyce Carol Oates," Greiner said. "We look forward to welcoming them home this year, and we're delighted that all of our distinguished speakers will give us the chance to welcome many of our Western New York neighbors to campus."

Antwone Fisher, the series' opening speaker, will appear as the UB Reads Choice Speaker. All incoming freshmen are being given Fisher's book, "Finding Fish," to read before arriving on campus in August as part of the UB Reads program. Fisher will speak at 8 p.m. Sept. 24 in Alumni Arena, North Campus. Lecture sponsor is the Division of Student Affairs.

Fisher, born in prison to 17-year-old Eva Mae Fisher and 23-year-old Eddie Elkins -- who was shot and killed before Antwone was born -- is a man who survived the cruelties of foster care and the brutality of homelessness to become a successful Hollywood screenwriter and a devoted husband and father.

"Finding Fish" is story of a boy who made it in the world with the help of a few good souls, and by believing in himself. In a plot twist right out of a fairy tale, the story of Fisher's life made the rounds of the Sony lot, and Hollywood executives lined up to buy it. Fisher decided not to sell himself short, however, and turned down their offers. Instead, he wrote the screenplay himself and, after 41 drafts, he sold it to 20th Century Fox. The movie, "Antwone Fisher," directed by and starring Denzel Washington, was released earlier this year.

Fisher currently is a producer and screenwriter working in Hollywood. His projects include the upcoming "Double '0' Soul," starring Mariah Carey, and "Trigger Happy." His latest project is "Jelly Beans," with producer Will Smith. He lives with his wife and daughters in Los Angeles.

Wolf Blitzer will speak at 8 p.m. Oct. 2 in Alumni Arena. He is the Alumni Choice Speaker.

Considered by many to be one of the most insightful journalists in America today, Blitzer is the anchor of CNN's "Wolf Blitzer Reports," a weekday evening broadcast focusing on the day's top news and featuring live interviews with top newsmakers and live debriefs with correspondents around the world. He also hosts "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," the only Sunday talk show seen in more than 212 countries and territories. Prior to his assignment as anchor of "Wolf Blitzer Reports," Blitzer co-anchored "The World Today."

A 1970 graduate of UB with a bachelor's degree in history, Blitzer served as CNN's senior White House correspondent covering President Bill Clinton from his election in November 1992 until 1999.

For more than two decades, he has reported on a wide range of major breaking stories around the world. He began his career in 1972 with the Reuters News Agency in Tel Aviv. Shortly thereafter, he became a Washington, D.C., correspondent for The Jerusalem Post. After more than 15 years of reporting from the nation's capital for the Post, Blitzer joined CNN in 1990 as the network's military-affairs correspondent at the Pentagon.

Blitzer won an Emmy Award in 1996 for his coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. In 1994, American Journalism Review cited him and CNN as the overwhelming choice of readers for the coveted Best in the Business Award for "best network coverage of the Clinton administration."

In 1999, he was honored with the International Platform Association's Lowell Thomas Broadcast Journalism Award for outstanding contributions to broadcast journalism.

Bill Cosby, the Undergraduate Student Choice Speaker, will appear at 8 p.m. Nov. 13 in Alumni Arena.

By any standard, Cosby is one of the most influential stars in America today. Whether it be through concert appearances or recordings, television or films, commercials or education, he has the ability to touch people's lives. His humor often centers on the basic cornerstones of the human existence, seeking to provide an insight into our roles as parents, children, family members and men and women.

The 1984-92 run of "The Crosby Show" and his books, "Fatherhood" (1986), "Time Flies" (1987) and "Cosbyology" (2001), established new benchmarks on how success is measured. His status at the top of the TVQ survey year after year continues to confirm his appeal as one of the most popular personalities in America.

His lifelong contributions to American culture were recognized with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2002.

Joyce Carol Oates will speak at 8 p.m. March 2 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

Oates is one of America's most versatile, serious writers, the author of a number of distinguished books in several genres, all published within the past 25 years. In addition to numerous novels and short-story collections, she has published several volumes of poetry, several books of plays, five books of literary criticism, and the book-length essay, "On Boxing." Her writing has earned her much praise and many awards; in 199,9 she was nominated for the Nobel Prize for the third time.

Oates's recent works include "The Tattooed Girl," (2003), a novel; "Small Avalanches and Other Stories" (2003), a collection of short stories; "I'll Take You There" (2002); "Big Mouth & Ugly Girl" (2002), her first novel for young adults, and "Beasts" (2002).

Born in Lockport, Oates received a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin. She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University.

The 28th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration will take on a different format in 2004 with the appearance of Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the NAACP, and Republican J.C. Watts, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The pair will speak at 8 p.m. March 24 in Alumni Arena. Lecture sponsor is the UB Minority Faculty and Staff Association.

Mfume gave up his seat in the U.S. Congress -- where he had represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District for 10 years -- to assume the presidency of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, in 1996.

As a congressman, Mfume advocated consistently for landmark minority-business and civil-rights legislation. He successfully co-sponsored and helped pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, and authorized the minority contracting and employment amendments to the Financial Institutions Reform and Recovery Act. He strengthened the Equal Credit Opportunity Law and amended the Community Reinvestment Act in the interest of minority financial institutions. He co-authored and successfully amended the Civil Rights Bill of 1991 to apply the act to U.S. citizens working for American-based companies abroad.

Mfume served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and later, as the Caucus' chair of the Task Force on Affirmative Action.

From football hero to his remarkable eight years as one of the most effective members of Congress, Watts is an embodiment of the American dream. An outstanding quarterback, J.C. Watts led the University of Oklahoma to two Orange Bowl victories and twice was named the Orange Bowl's Most Valuable Player. As a rookie pro, he was named Most Valuable Player of the Grey Cup, Canada's Super Bowl.

An ordained minister, Watts turned his commitment to community after his football career. He was elected to the House of Representatives from his native Oklahoma in 1994 and served as the chairman of the House Republican Conference, the fourth-highest position in the House, in 1998 -- a position he served for four years. He was honorary co-chairman of the 2000 Republican National Convention.

Today, he is a member of several corporate boards and is co-chair of the Coalition for AIDS Relief in Africa.

The Distinguished Speakers Series will close this year with a lecture by Tim Russert, NBC senior vice president and producer and moderator of the weekly news show "Meet the Press," at 8 p.m. April 21 in Alumni Arena. Lecture sponsor is TIAA-CREF.

Russert took over the helm of "Meet the Press" in December 1991 and since then the show -- now in its 56th year and the longest-running program in the history of television -- has become the most watched Sunday-morning interview program in America and the most-quoted news program in the world

In addition his duties on "Meet the Press," Russert anchors "The Tim Russert Show," a weekly interview program on CNBC and is a contributing anchor for MSNBC. He also serves as senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News.

Before joining NBC News, Russert observed firsthand the inner workings of the executive and legislative branches of government as counselor in the New York Governor's Office in Albany in 1983-84, and a special counsel in the U.S. Senate from 1977-82.

A Buffalo native, Russert is a graduate of Canisius High School, John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Affiliate sponsors of the Distinguished Speaker Series are WBFO 88.7 FM, UB's National Public Radio affiliate; University Bookstores; UB Graduate Student Association, and WGRZ-TV.

Series subscriptions and individual tickets can be pre-purchased by mailing or faxing a ticket order form order -- available online at http://www.specialevents.buffalo.edu -- to the Alumni Arena ticket office, or by stopping by the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Beginning Aug. 4, single lecture tickets for Antwone Fisher, Wolf Blitzer, Bill Cosby, the Martin Luther King Jr. event and Tim Russert can be purchased through Tickets.com, the Alumni Arena ticket office and at all Tops outlets; tickets for Joyce Carol Oates can be purchased through TicketMaster and at the UB Center for the Arts ticket office. Hours for the CFA ticket office are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, go to http://www.specialevents.buffalo.edu.