Signature Series to feature A&E's Abbe Raven

This year's Signature Series, the annual event celebrating UB’s vibrant culture of creative excellence, ingenuity and imagination, will feature a conversation with UB alumna and media executive Abbe Raven, one of the most influential women and accomplished executives in the entertainment industry.

The conversation will take place at 11 a.m. Sept. 25 in the Screening Room of the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Raven will sit down with Robin Schulze, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, for a conversation about her career and her perspectives on the entertainment industry.

During her visit to UB, Raven also will receive a SUNY honorary doctorate in humane letters and meet with students from the Department of Theatre and Dance.  

A 1974 UB theatre alumna, Raven is the acting chairman and former president, CEO and chairman of A+E Networks, the award-winning, multibillion-dollar global media company that encompasses A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, VICELAND, FYI and A+E Studios, reaching 330 million households in 200 territories.

Under her leadership, HISTORY grew to become one of the most widely recognized television brands in the world, while A&E catapulted into a top five cable network and Lifetime reclaimed its position as a premier brand among women.

Raven has been named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune and ranked in the top five on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment Power 100” list. As an advocate for educational outreach, she has captured the power of television to change lives and is an inspiring mentor to women.

An active community leader, she serves on the boards of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and PENCIL, a nonprofit that fosters success among New York City public school students by connecting them with business professionals.

The event is free and advance registration is recommended but not required. The Signature Series is a program of the Office of the President.