University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: August 30, 2007

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

Controversial and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore will open the 21st season of UB's Distinguished Speakers Series for 2007-08.

The series also will feature lectures by human rights activist and author Ishmael Beah; Steven D. Levitt, an economist at the University of Chicago and co-author of the bestseller "Freakonomics"; Harold Ford Jr., chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council; magazine editor and author Tina Brown; and award-winning actor James Earl Jones.

All lectures in the series will take place at 8 p.m. in Alumni Arena, North Campus, unless otherwise noted.

President John B. Simpson noted that the slate of speakers "represents some of the most intriguing voices of our time, reflecting on topics of critical interest across a very broad spectrum—from national politics to global human rights issues, from the provocative to the inspiring.

"Our Distinguished Speakers Series—now in its 21st year—has proven to be an ideal forum for addressing the ideas, questions and debates that shape our world, and this year's lineup is no exception," Simpson added. "Each of these lectures is an opportunity to engage these issues directly with the public intellectuals, artists and civic leaders driving those conversations today, and each promises to be an unforgettable experience we're proud to share with our larger community."

The series will open Sept. 29 with a talk by award-winning director Michael Moore, known for his critical and controversial examinations of globalization, large corporations, gun violence, the American health care system and the current presidential administration.

Moore burst onto the American moviemaking scene with the 1989 film, "Roger and Me," a groundbreaking documentary chronicling his efforts to meet General Motors chairman Roger Smith and talk with him about the devastating effects GM's closure of auto plants has had on Moore's hometown of Flint, Mich. Among Moore's other films are "Bowling for Columbine," which won an Academy Award for best documentary, and "Fahrenheit 9/11," which earned the "Best Picture" award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. His most recent release, "Sicko," probes the American health care system and pharmaceutical industry.

Ishmael Beah, author of this year's UB Reads selection, "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier," will speak Oct. 24. Lecture sponsor is the Division of Student Affairs.

A native of Sierra Leone, Beah's childhood was ended abruptly by civil war and the deaths of his parents and two brothers. At the age of 13, he became one of an estimated 300,000 child soldiers fighting in more than 50 conflicts around the world. He fought for more than two years before being removed from the army by UNICEF and placed in a rehabilitation home in Sierra Leone. He was adopted by Laura Simms, a professional storyteller who lives in New York, completed high school at the United Nations International School and went on to Oberlin College in Ohio.

Today, he is a passionate advocate for the plight of child soldiers and children affected by war around the world, speaking on behalf of UNICEF, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Secretary General's Office for Children and Armed Conflict.

Economist Steven Levitt, who with journalist Stephen Dubner authored the bestseller "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything," will speak Nov. 14.

Alvin Baum Professor of Economics and director of the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory at the University of Chicago, Levitt applies economics to the riddles of everyday life, examining everything from the relationship between legalized abortion and crime rates, to commonalities between schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers.

He received the Quill Award for Best Business Book of the Year for "Freakonomics," as well as the Booksense Independent Booksellers Nonfiction Book of the Year award.

Among the other numerous honors and awards Levitt has received is the 2004 John Bates Clark Medal, which recognizes the most influential economist in America under the age of 40. He also was chosen in 2006 as one of Time magazine's "100 people who shape our world."

A University of Chicago faculty member since 1997, Levitt received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1989 and his doctorate from M.I.T. in 1994.

Harold E. Ford Jr., chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, a nonprofit corporation promoting a moderate/conservative platform within the Democratic Party, will be the keynote speaker for the 32nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Event, to be held Feb. 7 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Lecture sponsor is the UB Minority Faculty and Staff Association.

Described by President Bill Clinton as "the walking, living embodiment of where America ought to go in the 21st century," Ford built a reputation on Capitol Hill as a consensus builder while serving on the House Budget Committee, the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Known to his colleagues as a fiscal watchdog conservative, he played an active role as a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats seeking middle-ground, bipartisan answers to the current challenges facing the nation. While in Congress, he was also a member of the New Democrat Coalition and the Congressional Black Caucus. In 2006, Ford lost the closest Senate race in Tennessee history to Republican Bob Corker by less than three percentage points.

In addition to heading the Democratic Leadership Council, he serves as a visiting professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University and is vice chairman and senior policy advisor for Merrill Lynch & Co.

Media maven Tina Brown will speak March 5 in the Center for the Arts.

Brown was only 25 when she became editor-in-chief of England's oldest glossy, The Tatler, reviving the nearly defunct 270-year-old magazine with an attitude and style that gave it a 300-percent circulation rise. She went on to become editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, and won four National Magazine Awards. In 1992, she became the first female editor of The New Yorker, raising newsstand circulation by 145 percent. In 2000, Brown was awarded C.B.E. (Commander of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth.

She is the author of the recently released "The Diana Chronicles," a biography of Princess Diana.

Tony and Emmy award-winning actor James Earl Jones will speak April 4 in the Center for the Arts. Jones is the UB Graduate Student Association "Choice Speaker." Lecture sponsor is Time Warner Cable Business Class.

The sinister voice of Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" films, Jones has appeared in more than 50 movies, including "The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger," "Field of Dreams" and "Cry, the Beloved Country." He won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award in 1969 for "The Great White Hope," and another Tony in 1987 for August Wilson's "Fences." His recreation of "The Great White Hope" role in the 1970 film of the same name earned him an Academy-Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award.

Jones has had numerous television roles, appearing in "Roots: The Next Generation" "Gabriel's Fire—for which he won an Emmy—and "The Simpsons," among others.

Known for his deep and authoritative voice, Jones' trademark feature defined numerous roles in addition to Darth Vader, including that of Mufasa in "The Lion King" and the booming "This is CNN" announcer.

Presenting sponsor of the Distinguished Speakers Series is the Don Davis Auto World Lectureship Fund. Series sponsor is the undergraduate Student Association. Affiliate sponsors are WBFO-FM 88.7; WGRZ-TV Channel 2; USA Today; Time Warner Cable Business Class; Hodgson Russ LLP; the University Bookstore; and the Graduate Student Association. Contributing sponsors include the Health Sciences Chapter of United University Professions, Verizon, the Buffalo Niagara Marriott, Flynn & Friends Inc. Marketing & Communications, Chakra Communications Inc., UB Athletics, the UB Alumni Association and the Center for the Arts.

Click here to download order forms for series subscriptions and individual lecture tickets. Subscriptions also may be purchased at the Alumni Arena box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Individual lecture tickets will go on sale Tuesday. Non-discounted tickets for Moore, Beah and Levitt will be available directly through Tickets.com, the Alumni Arena box office and at all Tops Friendly Markets; nondiscounted tickets for the Ford, Brown and Jones lectures will be available through Ticketmaster and the Center for the Arts box office.

For more information, click here.