NPR political correspondent Juan Williams to give Currier address

Juan Williams, National Public Radio senior correspondent and one of America’s leading journalists, will speak Oct. 5 at the University.

Juan Williams

As the 2004 Currier Visiting Lecturer, Williams will offer “An Insider’s View from Washington: Thoughts on the 2004 Election” at 7:30 p.m. in 202B Bowen-Thompson Student Union. A book signing and reception will follow the lecture.

From 2000-01, Williams hosted NPR’s call-in show, “Talk of the Nation.” He also took the program to cities across America for monthly radio “town hall” meetings before live audiences. The program was part of “The Changing Face of America,” a yearlong series about how Americans were dealing with rapid changes in society and culture entering the 21st century. The series aired on “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” as well as on “Talk of the Nation.”

Williams also is a regular political analyst on the FOX News Channel’s public affairs program, “FOX News Sunday with Tony Snow.” He has also appeared on FOX’s popular weeknight show “The O’Reilly Factor.”

In addition, Williams has been seen on “Nightline,” “Washington Week in Review,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Capitol Gang Sunday” and CNN’s “Crossfire,” where he frequently has been a co-host. He won an Emmy Award for television documentary writing and received critical acclaim for a series of documentaries including “Politics—The New Black Power.”

Williams is the author of the critically acclaimed biography, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, which was released in paperback in 2000. He is also the author of the nonfiction bestseller Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965.

During his more than 20 years at The Washington Post, Williams served as an editorial writer, columnist and White House reporter. He also has written numerous articles for Newsweek, Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, Ebony, Gentlemen’s Quarterly and The New Republic magazines.

Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Haverford College in 1976. He now sits on Haverford's board of trustees as well as on the boards of the Aspen Institute of Communications and Society Program, the Washington Journalism Center and the New York Civil Rights Coalition.

The Currier Visiting Lecture Series at BGSU is made possible in part by an endowed gift from the estate of Florence and Jesse Currier, who came to the University in 1940. Jesse Currier was responsible for a full-fledged journalism program being established at Bowling Green, and Florence Currier served as dean of women from 1949 until her retirement in 1963.

The Florence and Jesse Currier Fund at BGSU is used for journalism scholarships, faculty development, special projects and the annual lecture series that brings distinguished journalists and media professionals to campus to speak and meet with students and faculty.