Williams to speak at KSU next week

Longtime National Public Radio political analyst Juan Williams will speak at 1 p.m. April 30 in the Kiva about issues related to living in a democracy.

In his speech called “The Changing of America,” Williams will discuss the “powerful mix of money, race and aging in the new century,” according to a university press release.

Williams, the former host of NPR’s call-in show “Talk of the Nation,” regularly appears on “Morning Edition” and “Day to Day” in addition to serving as a panelist on “Fox News Sunday.”

Charlene Reed, secretary for the Board of Trustees, said Kent State is “sponsoring the lecture in the spirit of the democracy symposium,” which will not occur this year.

For the past eight years, Kent State organized an annual Symposium on Democracy as part of events related to the observance of May 4, 1970.

Reed said aspects of organizing a symposium for this year did not come together for a variety of reasons.

Even so, the university unveiled its theme for the 2009 Symposium on Democracy – “media, memory and history,” according to the press release.

The symposium will feature public historian Jay Winter, the Charles J. Stille Professor of History at Yale University, as one of the speakers, Associate Provost Laura Davis, who is a co-chair of the symposium committee, said in the press release.

The topic of last year’s Symposium on Democracy was “Democracy and Peace? Historical Links and Implications for World Order.” Political activist Tom Hayden served as the keynote speaker.

Contact administration reporter Jackie Valley at [email protected].