Time magazine's "Person of the Year," a best-selling novelist, an astronaut, a politician and a well-known television personality graced the halls of UB this year for the 16th year of the Distinguished Speakers series.
Katie Couric kicked off the series in October, when she spoke to a packed Alumni Arena audience about her television career and her husband's unsuccessful battle against colon cancer.
"Who else can say they interviewed Howard Stern and Yassar Arafat on the same day?" she asked the audience. "Asking questions really isn't enough; my job is getting answers. I think my job is also to express moral outrage."
Rudolph Giuliani, former New York City mayor and Time magazine's 2001 "Man of the Year," took the stage in November, lecturing on the topic of his recent book, "Leadership."
He gave the audience his six points for success.
"Life doesn't go by without crisis," Giuliani said. "You need to assume that in your life, you're going to have to face difficult, challenging things that are going to happen to you because that's what life is. It challenges you."
Giuliani also related his experience as mayor of New York City during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "When people ask me, 'How did you do it?' I would say, 'I rested on the shoulders of giants.'"
Only weeks after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, former astronaut Mae Jemison spoke at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Event of the Distinguished Speakers Series.
"The media asked me today if space travel is worth the loss of life," Jemison said. "We must remain steadfast. It's part of our heritage."
Reflecting upon the history of her family, best-selling author Amy Tan discussed her works of fiction and the experiences that inspired them during her appearance at the Distinguished Speakers series in March.
"When I'm with my family, I feel strikingly American, but also very Chinese," Tan said. "It's one of the most interesting questions you can ask for the rest of your life."
Bill Bradley, former NBA star, senator and presidential candidate, capped off the speaker series in April.
Bradley shared his views on future prosperity - for all economic brackets - and leadership.
"How do we lead? The way we lead is the way we've lead at our best - like Thomas Jefferson said, 'The best way to lead is to lead by your example,'" he said. "That means a pluralistic democracy, with a vibrant economy raising more people to a higher economic ground."
The conclusion of Distinguished Speakers series was marked with sadness when, before the Bradley lecture, UB President William R. Greiner announced the death of Don Davis, founder of Don Davis Auto Group and financial supporter of the Distinguished Speakers series. A moment of silence was held in his honor.
-Written by George Zornick
-Reported by Stefanie Alaimo, Ben Cady, Jamie Lynn Perna, Kevin Purdy and Erin Shultz
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
