College of Charleston and The Graduate School of the College of Charleston

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

October 19, 2007

                                                            Contact: Stanfield Gray

Director of Media Relations & Event Marketing

                                                            Ph (843) 953-5496, Fax: (843) 953-5663

                                                            E-mail: grayjs@cofc.edu

OBAMA SUPPORTER, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING JOURNALIST TO SPEAK AT THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

Charleston, S.C. (Oct. 19, 2007) – Roger Wilkins, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, will speak on behalf of presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday, October 23, at 7:00 pm in Randolph Hall at the College of Charleston. 

Wilkins will appear in cooperation with the Department of Communication.  His presentation will emphasize the responsibilities of journalists in reporting on presidential leadership and politics.  Wilkins also will address government transparency and accountability. 

The event will take place at College of Charleston’s Randolph Hall on October 23, 2007 from 7:00pm – 8:30pm. A ticket is required for entrance.  Tickets will be available for students in the Department of Communication main office, beginning Monday, October 22, at 10:00am.  Tickets cannot be reserved by phone, fax, or e-mail.

Wilkins rose to prominence as a 33-year-old Assistant Attorney General in the Johnson Administration, but left government to join the Post. He has also written for the New York Times and was an editor at the now-defunct Washington Star, in addition to being a commentator for NPR. Today, Wilkins is a professor at George Mason University in Virginia and is the publisher of the NAACP journal Crisis.

Wilkins is the author of the acclaimed autobiography A Man's Life and Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States. His 2001 book Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism won the NAIBA Book Award for Best Adult Non-Fiction.

Because Wilkins’s presentation will incorporate material relevant to the Department of Communication’s non-partisan presidential communication series, “The Bully Pulpit: Reflections on Presidential Communication,” excerpts from his presentation will be made available to the public on the Bully Pulpit Web site at www.cofc.edu/bullypulpit.  The Bully Pulpit series is open to presidential candidates from the two major political parties. Allstate Insurance Company is the title sponsor for the Bully Pulpit series.

“We are pleased to have Roger Wilkins speak with our students,” said Brian McGee, chairman of the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston.  “His appearance is consistent with the theme of our Bully Pulpit series for the presidential candidates: How a successful candidate, if elected, will use the ‘bully pulpit’ powers of the presidency to inform, persuade and mobilize the American people.”

With the largest undergraduate major at the College of Charleston, the Department of Communication enrolls over 800 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs.  Students in the department study such topics as political communication, interpersonal communication, journalism, and public relations.  The department is housed in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The College of Charleston is a nationally preeminent, public liberal arts and sciences university located in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. With a student population of approximately 9800 undergraduates and 1400 graduate students, the College is known for its small-college feel blended with the advantages and diversity of an urban, mid-sized university.  Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston is among the nation’s top universities for quality education, student life and affordability.

Additional Contacts:

Brian McGee

Department of Communication

(843) 475-5129