SHIPPENSBURG, PA (February 1, 2011) - Shippensburg University presents television journalist and lecturer, SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, February 16, 2011, at 8 p.m. Ms. O'Brien will lecture on the topic of "Diversity: On Television, Behind the Scenes, and in Our Lives," as part of the Shippensburg University H.O.P.E. (Helping Our People Excel) Diversity Scholarship Program. Reserved tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling the Luhrs Center Box Office at 717.477.SHOW (7469) or online at www.luhrscenter.com.
A reception and dinner are offered preceding the lecture. The reception begins at 4:45 p.m. and takes place in the Orrstown Bank lobby of the Luhrs Center. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and takes place in the Tuscarora Room, Reisner Dining Hall, adjacent to the Luhrs Center. The reception is $75 and includes the dinner and lecture. The dinner is $45 and includes the lecture. For tickets to the reception or dinner, call 717.477.1738.
A graduate of Harvard University, television journalist Soledad O'Brien is the daughter of an Australian father of Irish descent and an Afro-Cuban mother. She moved up in the ranks of television news programs before landing her CNN anchor spot. O'Brien has reported breaking news from around the globe and has produced award-winning and record-breaking documentaries on the most important stories facing the world today. She also covers political news as part of CNN's "Best Political Team on Television." She was part of the team that won a Peabody Award for the coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the Alfred I. DuPont Award for coverage of the 2004 Asian tsunami. She also was awarded the President's Award by the NAACP and the Women of Power Award by the National Urban League.
O'Brien's most recent documentaries include Rescued, a look at Haiti's remarkable children before, during and after the devastating earthquake; and Gary and Tony Have a Baby, the story of two gay men and their struggle to have a baby that has a biological and legal connection to both of them. In 2009, Soledad reported for Latino in America, a wide-ranging look at Latinos living in this country; how they're reshaping America and how America is reshaping them. Prior, O'Brien reported for Black in America 2, a four-hour documentary focusing on successful community leaders who are improving the lives of African-Americans.
Her work in the documentary, Black in America, documented Black America forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a segment for Special Investigations that provided a never-seen before look at King's private writings, notes, and teachings that represented the foundation of his life's work as a preacher and human rights activist.
O'Brien came to CNN from NBC News where she anchored the network's Weekend Today since July 1999. Prior, O'Brien anchored MSNBC's award-winning technology program The Site. O'Brien joined NBC News in 1991 and was based in New York as a field producer for Nightly News and TODAY. Before her time at NBC, she served three years as a local reporter and bureau chief for the NBC affiliate KRON in San Francisco. She began her career as an associate producer and news writer at the then-NBC affiliate WBZ-TV in Boston.
She is a member of both the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has appeared several times on Irish American Magazine's list of "Top 100 Irish Americans."
For lecture tickets and information, call the Luhrs Center Box Office at 717.477.SHOW (7469) or visit the Luhrs Center website at www.luhrscenter.com. For reception and dinner tickets call 717.477.1738.
About the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University
The mission of the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University is to support and enhance the University's role in academic and cultural enrichment for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Luhrs Center's 1,500-seat state-of-the-art Grove Theatre is where programs to educate, enlighten and entertain are presented. Benefits of the Center to the region include expanding opportunities to participate in a wide range of cultural programming including full-scale Broadway companies, musical groups, symphonies, dance troupes and internationally known speakers. In addition, it adds options for professional training programs, youth programs and senior citizen programs; attracts regional and national business conferences, professional meetings and planning sessions; and additional visitors to the area which will result in a positive impact on the local and regional economy.
