Featured Speaker Series
Featured Speaker Series
In order to provide additional assistance in making your transition to UF, New Student Programs and the Division of Student Affairs presents the Featured Speaker Series. These speakers will cover areas of college life and touch on subjects that students will encounter during their college careers.
Fall 2008 Events
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
A Thirst for Change-Awareness to Action
4:00-9:00pm, Speaker at 7:00pm; Harn Museum of Art
Sponsored with UF Water Institute, Florida's Eden and the Harn Museum of Art
Monday, October 6th, 2008
Emmanuel Jal, Sudanese Hip-Hop Artist, Former Child Soldier
7:30pm, Reitz Union Grand Ballroom
Sponsored with ACCENT
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
Fred Pearce, Author of When the River Runs Dry, 2008 Common
Reading Program Selection
7:00pm, Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Travis Roy, former collegiate hockey player
7:00pm, Reitz Union Grand Ballroom
Sponsored with SG Disability Cabinet and the Disability Resource Center
Speaker Descriptions
A Thirst for Change--Awareness to Action
Join us for a full evening of conversation related to contemporary- and sometimes
controversial- water issues, complementing the exhibition, Cross-Currents
in Recent Video Installation: Water as Metaphor for Identity. Much like the
artists in the Cross-Currents exhibition, the various perspectives will address
both the physical and symbolic qualities of water. Arrive at 6pm to view Wes
Skiles' Hidden River film and then stay for the discussion to follow. An entire
line-up of the evening events may be found here.
Emmanual Jal
Once a child soldier on the front lines of combat in war-torn Sudan, Emmanuel
Jal has been hailed as the “rising star of African hip hop.” WARchild, his
third album and international solo debut, has launched Jal into the spotlight
for its profound, empowering message of peace and reconciliation. As the central
figure of the internationally acclaimed War Child documentary, Jal has quickly
become an international icon representing social justice and human rights.
Fred Pearce
In When the Rivers Run Dry, published in 2006, veteran science correspondent
Fred Pearce travels to more than thirty countries to examine the current state
of crucial water sources. Deftly weaving together the complicated scientific,
economic, and historic dimensions of the world water crisis, he provides our
most complete portrait yet of this growing danger and its ramifications for
us all.
Travis Roy
In the fall of 1995 Travis Roy accomplished
one of his dream goals by earning a hockey scholarship to Boston University.
Eleven seconds into his first game, his life changed forever as he crashed
into the boards and cracked his fourth and fifth cervical vertebra, paralyzing
him from the neck down. Despite this ill twist of fate, Roy has continued
to persevere and defy the odds. While coming to grips with his life as a quadriplegic,
he returned to Boston University less than a year after his accident. Four
years later, he graduated with a degree in public relations from Boston University's
prestigious College of Communication. In the storied history of BU Terriers
hockey, Roy's #24 is the only jersey to have been retired. Attend his talk
and be inspired to reach for your dreams while conquering hurdles along the
way.