Widener Announces 2015-16 Philadelphia Speakers Series Season
The Philadelphia Speakers Series presented by Widener University announces the lineup
for its 2015-16. Marking its 12th season this fall, the series opens on Oct. 5 with
former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
Following Panetta in the lineup is CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta
(Oct. 26); futurist and author Michio Kaku (Nov. 30); political activist and best-selling
author Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Jan. 18, 2016); long-distance swimmer and journalist Diana
Nyad (Feb. 8, 2016); Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords (March 14, 2016), commander of
the Endeavor space shuttle and former Arizona Congresswoman; and Dennis Ross (April
4, 2016), a specialist in Middle East and Soviet policy who served as a diplomat under
four U.S. Presidents.
“Widener University is proud to present the Philadelphia Speakers Series, an outstanding
opportunity for our community to benefit from the perspectives of national and world
leaders, authors, activists, historians, humanitarians and other influential individuals,”
said Widener President James T. Harris, III. “We consider our speakers series an important
extension of our mission and look forward to seven memorable evenings at the Kimmel
Center.”
Leon Panetta served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years before President
Clinton selected him as director of the Office of Management and Budget in 1993, and
then, in 1994, appointed him White House Chief of Staff. President Obama nominated
Panetta to run the CIA in 2009. He subsequently served as Secretary of Defense from
2011 to 2013.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the multiple Emmy Award-winning Chief Medical Correspondent for
CNN. A practicing neurosurgeon, Gupta plays an integral role in CNN’s reporting
on health and medical news for American Morning, Anderson Cooper 360° and CNN documentaries,
as well as anchoring the weekend medical affairs program, Sanjay Gupta, MD.
Known as a futurist and popularizer of science, Michio Kaku has written numerous books
about physics and makes regular appearances on radio, television and film. He is a
frequent host of TV specials for the BBC, Discovery Channel, the History Channel and
the Science Channel. Kaku also hosts a weekly, syndicated, radio program called Explorations.
Named in 2005 by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world,
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is known for her views critical of radical Islam and its suppression
of women. Born in Somalia, she sought political asylum in the Netherlands to avoid
a forced marriage and later was elected to the Dutch Parliament. Now a U.S. citizen,
Ali’s best-selling memoir is titled Infidel.
Diana Nyad came to national attention in the 1970s for swimming around Manhattan and
then from the Bahamas to Florida. In 2013, at age 64, she became the first person
to swim from Cuba to Key West, Fla., without the aid of a shark cage. Nyad also is
a journalist who has been regularly featured on NPR and on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords will headline on March 14. A Gulf War naval aviator,
Kelly became a NASA Space Shuttle pilot in 1996. In total, he flew four space missions,
including commanding the final mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Kelly will be
joined briefly by Giffords, his wife and the former Arizona Congresswoman who was
the target of an attempted assassination in 2011.
Dennis Ross has played a leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East
peace process as the point man for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. With
specialties in Soviet and Middle East policy, he has served as a diplomat under four
U.S. Presidents. Ross has authored several books and is now a Fellow at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy.
Presented by Widener University, the Philadelphia Speakers Series is sponsored by
WHYY and The Haverford Trust Company. Lectures are on Monday evenings at 8 p.m. at
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Speakers Series is sold by series subscription only. Subscription
prices range from $265 to $515 for tickets to all seven lectures. For subscriptions
or information, visit www.PhiladelphiaSpeakersSeries.org, or call 215-893-1955.
Widener University is a metropolitan university that connects curricula to social
issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention,
leadership development and experiential learning are key components of the Widener
experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener is comprised of
eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences, professional and
pre-professional curricula leading to associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral
degrees. The university’s campuses in Chester, Exton and Harrisburg, Pa., and Wilmington,
Del., serve some 6,000 students. Widener is proud to be a tobacco-free university.
Visit the university’s website, www.widener.edu.
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