The 2004-2005 Bryan Series begins Oct. 1. Entitled “Challenges Facing Democracy,” it will feature four world-famous speakers.
Political analyst Cokie Roberts, author Mary Pipher, and historian Michael Beschloss will lecture in Dana Auditorium. Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev headlines this year’s series and will be speaking on Oct. 6, at the War Memorial Auditorium. It will be the first time a Bryan speaker has not appeared in Dana.
“We’re expecting the largest attendance for Mikhail Gorbachev in the history of the Bryan Series,” said College President Kent Chabotar. Tickets reserved for the public sold out in early June.
“Challenges Facing Democracy” is an appropriate theme for the 2004-2005 series, given the upcoming elections and charged political climate. Roberts is the series’ first speaker. Originally scheduled to appear Sept. 30, she was forced to reschedule her visit to cover the first presidential debate. The new date is Oct. 1.
Beschloss, who will appear Feb. 10, will probably give a post-election analysis of the challenges facing our country. Pipher, whose book The Middle of Everywhere explores the lives of refugees, appears Oct. 26. Her visit is in conjunction with the Friends of the Greensboro Public Library’s “One City, One Book” project.
Despite the high profiles of the other guests, Mr. Gorbachev’s lecture has generated the most excitement on campus. First-year Brennan Aberle, who bought a ticket to the lecture through Ticketmaster last spring to make sure he would be able to attend, thinks Gorbachev will speak about the modern-day role of the United States. “He saw the [Berlin] Wall come down. He was there for the collapse of communism. Maybe he can give the United States some advice about what to do now.”
The intention of the Bryan Series is to provide students the opportunity to see “speakers with international recognition who can tell us things you can’t get from a book,” said President Chabotar. The series was established in 1994 with a $1,000,000 gift by long-serving trustee and alumnus Joseph M. Bryan Jr. ’60, and the former Kathleen Price Bryan Family Fund.
Journalist and author Thomas Friedman delivered the first Bryan lecture in 1996. Since then, luminaries such as Madeleine Albright, Oscar Arias, Edward Albee, and Sidney Poitier have lectured at Guilford. Some guests have spent time on campus, talking with and teaching students; Albee visited a theater class and gave advice about how to present his play Seascape.
Although he will not have time to visit international relations classes, Mr. Gorbachev’s visit will be a historic occasion for Guilford. “His is a name that will be in the history books,” said Ty Buckner, Director of College Relations.
Buckner, who arranges speakers’ visits, added that having Mr. Gorbachev speak off-campus will be “a test-run.” If the lecture goes as planned, Guilford will contract other speakers who will attract crowds larger than the 1,000 that can fit in Dana, he said.
While recognizing the benefits of bringing “big names” to the school, Buckner stressed that it was important “to be true to the hope of Joe Bryan” by providing every interested student the opportunity to attend the lectures. He hypothesized that at most only one Bryan speaker would appear off-campus a year.
The War Memorial Auditorium can seat 2,400. Guilford reserved half of the available tickets for students, faculty, administration, and alumni. On Sept. 5, over 800 people, mostly students, gathered in Dana to receive a free ticket. Everyone who came was able to get one. Guilford is also offering free bus transportation to the event – 250 people have signed up for buses.
Though we will share Mikhail Gorbachev’s lecture with the community of Greensboro, the Bryan Series is an event unique to Guilford. It exists because of the generosity of a Guilford alumnus who wanted to give back to the school he graduated from. These lectures provide Guilford students the opportunity to see history being made.