CNN’s Soledad O’Brien to Speak at Kent State on March 10

Kent State University hosts an evening with CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien on March 10 at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.

O’Brien is the anchor for “CNN: Special Investigations Unit” and has covered global news such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 South Asian tsunami and the war in Iraq. She is also the author of “Latino in America” and will sign copies of the book immediately following the program.

Danéa Rhodes, event programmer for Kent State’s Black United Students, said O’Brien’s speech will be valuable to both the general public and the university community.

“O’Brien is the host of CNN’s ‘Black in America’ series,” Rhodes said. “We believe it is important for the students of Kent State to learn firsthand of her perspective on the series, as well as the issues prominent in our society.”

O’Brien is recognized as an award-winning newscaster, receiving a Gracie Allen Award for her 2007 coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and the George Foster Peabody Award and Alfred I. DuPont Award for team coverage with CNN.

She also has been honored for her volunteerism and philanthropic efforts with the NAACP President’s Award, as well as the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award that was created for her by Community Voices at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Tickets are free for Kent State students and are available through the MAC Center ticket office, which can be reached at 330-672-2244. The general public can purchase tickets for $15.

“An Evening with Soledad O’Brien” is sponsored by the university’s Black United Students; the Center for Student Involvement; the School of Journalism and Mass Communication; the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; the Student Multicultural Center; the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs; and the Women’s Center.

For more information, contact Kent State’s Center for Student Involvement at 330-672-2480.

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Media Contacts:
Danéa Rhodes, drhodes4@kent.edu, 330-814-4405
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595