Jan. 27, 2007 – Award-winning veteran journalist and long-time foreign correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault will be the featured speaker for the 2007 Alfred O. Heath Distinguished Speakers Series, set for 6 p.m., Feb. 14, on UVI's St. Croix campus. The series will be held in Evans Center, room 401, with a videoconference connection to the Chase Auditorium (room B-110) on the St. Thomas campus. Perhaps most widely known as the chief national correspondent for the "Newshour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS, Hunter-Gault has more than 40 years of journalism experience. She recently retired as CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief and correspondent to pursue independent projects, one of which was working on her latest book, "New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance."
It is the topic of Hunter-Gault's UVI presentation, which will examine the modern Africa that is rarely seen. It challenges the gloom and doom perception of the continent and examines an emerging African Renaissance. The book has three sections that: analyze apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa; examine the continent's transition from colonialism to democratic reform; and tell how journalists can more accurately portray Africa.
Hunter-Gault has won two Peabody Awards, broadcast journalism's highest honor, two Emmy Awards, and a host of other awards and recognition. She has more than two-dozen honorary degrees. She previously worked as National Public Radio's chief Africa correspondent and now lives in Africa where she is a special correspondent for them.
The speakers series offers the public a setting in which to hear nationally and internationally recognized individuals discuss issues related to the challenges and opportunities faced by the global community. Books will be available for purchase from the UVI Bookstore on the St. Croix campus, and she will be signing them following her presentation.
The Alfred O. Heath Distinguished Speakers Series is the university's way of recognizing and celebrating the outstanding person and accomplished citizen that is Dr. Alfred O. Heath. As a UVI trustee emeritus and chair of the Foundation for the University of the V.I., Heath is an ardent, longtime supporter of the mission of the university.
For more information about the speakers series, call Michelle Smitherman at 693-1042.
