Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh will give the keynote address at the second annual Cal State University, Long Beach Distinguished Speaker Series on Wednesday, October 15 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on the university campus.
One of the most heralded investigative journalists of our generation, Hersh will address and update issues raised in his book Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib during his speech beginning at 2 p.m. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for sponsor exhibits, live music and no-host light refreshments. Guests should plan to arrive early to allow adequate time for parking.
“We are delighted to have as our second CSULB distinguished speaker a man of the caliber and reputation of Seymour Hersh,” said Art Levine, founder and director of the CSULB Distinguished Speaker Series and professor of ethics and legal studies in the College of Business Administration. “Students, faculty, staff and members of the community will have the opportunity to hear one of the great investigative journalists of our generation.” Levine added, “Hersh does not have a political point of view but rather exposes governmental abuse wherever he finds it. His distinguished career embodies the highest tradition of the press exercising their rights and responsibilities under the First Amendment of the Constitution.”
As a reporter for The New York Times, he received the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1970 for his work regarding the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War. He also received the 2004 George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting, one of the nation’s most coveted journalism honors.
Based in Washington D.C., Hersh regularly contributes articles regarding national security, government and military issues to The New Yorker magazine. In 2006 he reported on the U.S. military’s plans for Iran, which allegedly called for the use of nuclear weapons against that country. This July in a cover story in The New Yorker magazine, he reported on possible U.S. plans to attack Iran.
Besides Chain of Command, Hersh has written seven other books including The Price of Power for which he won the National Book Award.
Reserved seat tickets for the event are $40 with advance purchase. Day of event tickets will be $45. Parking is $5, payable on-site. Sponsor tickets are $100, which includes parking, a sponsor reception and luncheon at The Pointe at the Walter Pyramid, and preferred seating. Sponsor tables of 10 are also available.
For tickets call the Carpenter Center box office at (562) 985-7000 or go to www.carpenterarts.org. For sponsorship tables or other information, contact Levine at (562) 985-5673 or via e-mail at alevine@csulb.edu.
