Reporting on breaking news from around the world has taught CNN’s Soledad O’Brien a lot about diversity, and on Monday, March 8 she will share her experiences with the West Virginia University community.

O’Brien, anchor and special correspondent for CNN/U.S., will be the third speaker in WVU’s 2010 David C. Hardesty, Jr. Festival of Ideas. She will present “Diversity: On TV, Behind the Scenes and in Our Lives” at 7:30 p.m. in the Ruby Grand Hall of the Erickson Alumni Center.

A graduate of Harvard University, O’Brien has reported on Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the London terrorism attacks in 2005 and the tsunami in Thailand, among others. She was part of the coverage teams that earned CNN a George Foster Peabody award for its Katrina coverage and an Alfred I. DuPont Award for its coverage of the tsunami.

She has received numerous other awards, including a Gracie Allen Award for her reporting on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict and her reports from the Gulf Coast after Katrina. In 2007, she was honored with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s President’s Award for her humanitarian efforts and journalistic excellence.

Before joining CNN, O’Brien anchored NBC News’ “Weekend Today” and MSNBC’s award-winning technology program “The Site”. She joined NBC News in 1991 as a field producer for “Nightly News” and “TODAY.”

The 2010 David C. Hardesty, Jr. Festival of Ideas lecture series is scheduled to feature nine events and seven outstanding professionals. The series will continue through April.

The series is supported in part by the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas Endowment, which was established in 2007 by the WVU Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of WVU.

O’Brien’s presentation is co-sponsored by WVU’s Center for Black Culture and Research. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

Please visit the 2010 Festival of Ideas Web site for a complete schedule at http://festivalofideas.wvu.edu .

-WVU-

cd/03/08/10

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