actor/activist Edward James Olmos

renowned author/intellect Cornel West

and TV journalist/producer Juju Chang

Photos: source Bing.com

 JERSEY CITY, N.J. / September 1, 2010 – Although they are from very different walks of life, each of the four speakers slated to appear in the Hudson County Community College 2010-2011 Lecture Series has worked to improve life and has acted as inspiration for thousands.

The series begins on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 with the appearance of Dr. Terry O’Banion, Director of the Community College Leadership Program at Walden University.

 

 

Dr. O’Banion is a world-renowned leader in the field of higher education who has championed – and helped shape – community colleges for more than four decades. He served as the president of the League for Innovation in the Community College (one of the most dynamic organizations in the education realm) for more than two decades, and authored 12 books and 135 articles on community colleges.

“Community colleges are America’s affordable colleges in everyone’s backyard. They provide a second chance for students who never dreamed of attending college, and they require strong leaders who can help students navigate through the social and economic challenges of the 21^st century,” Dr. O’Banion has written.

Edward James Olmos, the acclaimed actor, producer, director and community activist, will speak at the College on Thursday, November 18, 2010. The Emmy- and Golden Globe- winning actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the dedicated math teacher Jaime Escalante in the film Stand and Deliver, is the executive director of the Lives in Hazard Educational Project, a national gang prevention program. Mr. Olmos is also a United States Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

Dr. Cornel West, the groundbreaking author, philosopher, civil rights activist, and one of America’s most respected intellectuals, is scheduled to speak on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011.  The Princeton University professor published the 1993 bestseller Race Matters, a provocative analysis of racism in American democracy that has sold more than a half million copies to date, as well as 18 other books, and edited 13 books. He also frequently comments on social issues on various television news programs.

Juju Chang, the news anchor for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” will appear at Hudson County Community College on Thursday, March 3, 2011. After graduating with honors from Stanford University where she was awarded the Edwin Cottrell Political Science Prize, she pursued a career in journalism and broadcasting at PBS and ABC News. Ms. Chang has earned Emmy and Gracie awards for her coverage of the California wildfires, gender equality in the sciences, foreign adoptions gone wrong, the juvenile justice system, and other issues.

All of the lectures will be held in the Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street, just two blocks from the Journal Square PATH Station in Jersey City. The lectures are free and open to the general public. However, tickets are a must and seating is limited. To obtain tickets for the lectures, please contact the Office of Student Activities at (201) 360-4195.

The post Hudson County Community College Announces Speakers for 2010-2011 Lecture Series first appeared on River View Observer.

 Michael Eric Dyson, the renowned social analyst, best-selling author, ordained minister and University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, who is considered one of the finest thinkers in the United States, will speak at Hudson County Community College’s Lecture Series. Dr. Dyson’s appearance is scheduled for Thursday, February 11 at 6 p.m. in the Scott Ring Room of the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City – just two blocks from the Grove Street PATH station.

A prolific author whose writings have explored the lives of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., singer Marvin Gaye and entertainer Bill Cosby, Dr. Dyson has also written about the cultural significance of rap in Between God and Gangsta Rap, on Hurricane Katrina in Come Hell or High Water, and on matters of race in America in Debating Race.

Dr. Dyson has taught at some of this nation’s most prestigious universities (including Brown, UNC at Chapel Hill, Columbia and University of Pennsylvania), and the Chronicle of Higher Education once wrote that his fiery and fearless oratory “can rock classroom and chapel alike.”

Born in Detroit in 1958, Dyson grew up in a comfortable middle class family. As a child, he developed his oratorical skills by delivering speeches to the members of his Baptist church. While attending a prestigious boarding school, he encountered his first personal experiences with racism and returned to public high school. By the time he was to graduate high school he was a teenage father-to-be, living on welfare, and known on the streets as a hustler. Throughout everything, he continued to attend the Baptist church, and by the time he was 21, he had studied and become an ordained minister.

Dr. Dyson pursued his love of learning and journalism through his studies at Knoxville College and Carson-Newman College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree with honors. He then went on to earn a master’s degree and doctoral degree from Princeton University. He is a much sought-after social commentator who has appeared on a wide variety of television and radio programs, and he has hosted his own nationally syndicated radio show, “The Michael Eric Dyson Show.”

“The theme of this year’s lecture series is ‘Reaching New Heights,’ and Dr. Dyson has devoted his life to doing just that,” said HCCC President Dr. Glen Gabert. “It is an honor to have Dr. Dyson appear here at Hudson County Community College. We are certain that everyone will find his lecture engrossing, enlightening and inspiring,” Dr. Gabert stated.

There are a limited number of free tickets available through the College’s Office of Student Activities for Dr. Dyson’s appearance. More information and tickets are available by phoning (201) 360-4195.

Dr. Gabert reminded that the third and final installment of the 2009-2010 Lecture Series is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17 when Rita Moreno – one of the few performers who has won all four of the nation’s top entertainment awards – will appear.

The post Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, One of America’s Most Inspiring and Influential Authors and Scholars,to Speak at Hudson County Community College first appeared on River View Observer.