AMHERST, N.Y. — A UB alum, a Pulitzer Prize winner, gold medal Olympian and one of the country's leading conservationist and environmental journalist will headline UB's 35th Distinguish Speakers Series.
The 2021-22 season will be back as an in-person event with all talks taking place in the Mainstage Theatre in the UB Center for the Arts on the North Campus.
“With the return of our series to an in-person format, we are delighted to welcome to campus an eminent cadre of influential thought leaders — including a UB alumnus — who promise to engage us in candid, provocative conversations about some of the most compelling issues facing society," said UB President Satish Tripathi.
Actor Winston Duke kicks off the series on October 13. Duke received a BA in theatre from UB and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He made his film debut playing M'Baku in "Black Panther," which earned him an NAACP nomination for "Breakout of the Year."
An Olympic champion will take the podium on November 16. Aly Raisman is the third most decorated American gymnast of all time and served as team captain of the Olympic gold medal-winning women's teams in 2012 and 2016.
Pulitzer-Prize winner and New York Times Magazine staff writer Nikole Hannah-Jones is next on February 16, 2022 and will be UB's 46th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Speaker. Hannah-Jones created 'The 1619 Project" which chronicles the way official policy has created and maintains racial segregation in housing and schools.
Last, but not least, will be conservationist and environmental journalist Jeff Corwin. Corwin has been awarded three Emmys for his telling stories of wildlife and nature to global audiences for over two decades. He is probably best known for his Animal Planet series, "The Jeff Corwin Experience".
Subscription holders from the 2019-20 series will get an email soon on how to renew. New subscriptions or individual lecture tickets go on sale September 20. Tickets will also be available at the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
If you plan on attending any or all or the lectures, UB currently requires all those on campus to wears masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Additional information about the university's health and safety guidelines can be found here.
Additional speaker and ticket information can be found here.
WGRZ is a proud sponsor of the Distinguished Speakers Series.
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