Fairfield University's Open VISIONS Forum announces 2001-02 season | Press Releases

Fairfield University's Open VISIONS Forum, an outreach program of the School of Continuing Education, will offer a noteworthy fifth season featuring a member of Britain's royal family, a former ambassador to the United Nations, the Poet Laureate of the United States, the director of the Guggenheim museums and two journalists, one from CNN, the other from National Public Radio.

The series, designed to challenge "the life of the mind," opens on Sunday, September 23, at 3 p.m. with Her Royal Highness, Princess Michael of Kent, who will discuss "Royal Power - the Substance and the Show." Princess Michael, the wife of the Queen of England's first cousin, was born in Bohemia and is a descendant of ancient European aristocratic houses on both sides of her family.

With so much history in her personal background, the princess was ideally suited to write two history books, both of which became best-sellers and were translated worldwide: Crowned in a Far Country: Eight Royal Brides, and Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours. It was the success of these two books that launched her lecturing career in the United States and Europe.

Howard Means, author of Money and Power: The History of Business, will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Told through the stories of a dozen of the millennium's most prominent moguls, Means' book covers the story of business over the last thousand years. Written as a companion piece to the CNBC documentary of the same name, it was published simultaneously with the documentary.

"A Political Update with Jeff Greenfield" will offer insight into this country's political maneuverings on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. A veteran journalist and author, Greenfield also serves as co-anchor and senior analyst at CNN where he is well known for his analysis and commentary on the Washington, D.C. political scene.

Before joining CNN, Greenfield was ABC News' political and media analyst for 14 years, appearing regularly on Nightline and serving as an essayist on World News Sunday. He has reported on virtually every important domestic political story; his timely topics and quick wit have made him one of the nation's most sought-after speakers.

Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, will speak on Monday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m., when Open VISIONS presents its annual Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lectureship. Hailed as a "master of impossible missions," Holbrooke secured his reputation as the world's premier negotiator by arranging an unprecedented agreement bringing the United States back into good standing with the United Nations.

A diplomat with real-world corporate understanding, Holbrooke defines the art of negotiation in both business and diplomatic settings. He simultaneously persuaded United Nations' members to reduce America's share of dues and assessments and enlisted the aid of Ted Turner to ante up the balance of our U.N. dues.

Thomas Krens, director of the Guggenheim Museums Worldwide, will discuss "The Art Museum in the 21st Century" on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2002 at 3 p.m. A museum as brand name? An art show devoted to motorcycles? These are just some of the ground-breaking ideas of Krens, the man who Forbes says is "rewriting the rules of how museums are run."

As Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Krens oversees five Guggenheim museums worldwide. His unique ways of funding and supporting his projects have dramatically increased the visibility of the Guggenheim and upped attendance from 450,000 visitors in 1990 to almost three million worldwide last year.

The 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, Robert Pinsky, will talk about "Keeping the Humanities Alive Through the Written Word," on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. A teacher in the graduate writing program at Boston University, he is also poetry editor of the online journal Slate and a contributor to The NewsHour with Jim Leher on PBS.

His book, The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems 1965-95, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry and also received the Lenore Marshall Award and the Ambassador Book Award of the English Speaking Union. His latest book, Jersey Rain, was published in April 2000.

The season will conclude on Sunday, March 24, 2002 at 3 p.m., when Linda Wertheimer, host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," discusses "Exploring Current Issues and Ideas Confronting American Society." A renowned political correspondent, Wertheimer has covered every major congressional news story since Watergate and draws upon more than 20 years of political reporting to give the audience a special perspective on what's happening in our nation's capital.

In 1988 she received a Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award for her work on "The Iran-Contra Affair: A Special Report," a series of 41 half-hour programs that summarized each day's congressional hearing and highlighted key testimony. Wertheimer was also honored with a special Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Citation for her outstanding coverage of the historic 1978 Panama Canal Treaty debates.

The Open VISIONS Forum was conceived by Philip Eliasoph, Ph.D., professor of Visual and Performing Arts and the series' director and moderator. All lectures take place in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University's state-of-the-art theater complex where ample parking is available in three adjacent, well-lighted parking lots patrolled by the university's Security Department.

Ticket prices are $15 for each lecture with discounts available for seniors and students. Tickets go on sale August 15.

For information on becoming a patron of Open VISIONS, call the School of Continuing Education at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2688. For tickets, subscriptions and information, call the box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll-free at 1-877-ARTS-396.