Several African American leaders and icons -- from comedian Bill Cosby to former legislator J. C. Watts -- will speak at UB this year as part of the 17th annual Distinguished Speakers Series.
Hollywood screenwriter Antoine Fisher, author Joyce Carol Oates, civil rights leader Kweisi Mfume, and television icons Wolf Blitzer and Tim Russert join Cosby and Watts on this year's bill.
The Office of Special Events, which organizes the series, landed a record seven speakers for this year's series. In addition, Alumni Arena, the largest venue on campus, will host all but one of the events.
"Because of the growing popularity of the program, we've been able to book five out of six lectures in Alumni Arena," said William J. Regan, director of Special Events.
Tickets for all the lectures are free of charge with proper UB identification and will be available for all lectures except Cosby at both the SA and GSA offices. Due to anticipation of high demand, tickets for the Cosby speech will be distributed through the box office at the Center for the Arts. Regan said a date for the release of Cosby tickets will be disclosed soon after UB's Family Weekend in mid-October.
"We want students to understand if they keep their eyes peeled, they can get their free tickets," said Regan.
Fisher, who penned the novel "Finding Fish" and wrote the screenplay for the Denzel Washington film "Antwone Fisher," will kick off the series on Sept. 24.
Since "Finding Fish" was part of the UB Reads freshman summer reading list, freshman students will be offered a chance to get tickets in their UB 101 classes. "It's kind of like the UB Book Club," said Regan.
Deirdre Clark, a graduate student studying to be a school counselor, saw "Antoine Fisher" last summer and said she can't wait to see the film's writer at UB.
"The movie was a real tearjerker," Clark said.
Two prominent African-American leaders will share the bill at the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Event, held on March 24. Mfume, the president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will join Watts, an ordained minister who became a powerful Congressman from Oklahoma.
Each year, the UB Minority Faculty and Staff Association sponsors the event. African-American astronaut Mae Jemison, joined by a gospel choir, spoke to a full house at the Center for the Arts' Mainstage Theater last spring.
Two speakers will share the bill for the first time since 1996, when actors Danny Glover and Felix Justice headlined the event.
One of the most eagerly awaited speeches each year is that of the Undergraduate Student Choice Speaker. For this year's event, Bill Cosby will be speaking in Alumni Arena on Nov. 13.
Many UB students grew up watching Cosby, who played role-model father Cliff Huxtable during the nine-year run of "The Cosby Show."
"Bill Cosby is kind of a timeless wonder," said Regan.
Though Shaketa Redden has not been to a Distinguished Speakers Series event since Sidney Poitier's 2001 speech, she is excited to see Cosby.
"The Cosby Show was like my favorite of all time," the senior studio art major said. "I seriously watched it every night.
Several of this year's speakers stand out for their connections to Western New York.
Oates, best-selling author of "We Were the Mulvaneys" and "I'll Take You There," was born in Lockport, 15 miles from North Campus. Blitzer and Russert grew up in Buffalo in the 1950s and 1960s. Blitzer, who Regan referred to as "a local boy made big," graduated from UB with a bachelor of arts degree in 1970.
Regan said Blitzer should be a big hit among other UB graduates.
"We market to the alumni community population in Western New York," said Regan.
Dave Pierce, a faculty member in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is eagerly awaiting Russert's appearance.
"I've watched him quite a bit," Pierce said. "My father is very into politics. Whenever I'm over at his house, 'Meet the Press' is on."
A complex process is used to determine who will headline the bill for the year, according to Regan.
"We start with conducting surveys at our speakers series and online to gauge where peoples' interests lie," said Regan.
Additionally, the Office of Special Events works with the Student Association and Graduate Student Association, collecting a list of each groups' top three choices for speakers.
Regan said the budget of about $450,000 plays a hand in which speakers are selected. The money must cover the cost of generating publicity, securing facilities and the big screen magnification provided at each event.
"We're going to generate a monetary sponsorship of roughly $180,000, and look to recouping the difference in ticket revenue," Regan said.
Sponsorship will be in the form of a student contribution through the mandatory student activity fee, as well as a lectureship fund from Don Davis Auto World and support from various other sponsors.
