University Park

Steve Forbes to replace James Earl Jones in Speaker Series lineup

University Park, Pa. -- A writer and speaker on domestic and foreign policy issues, as well as CEO of Forbes Inc., editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine and a former presidential candidate, Steve Forbes will appear at 8 p.m. April 14 at Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium as the final speaker in the 2004-2005 Distinguished Speaker Series lineup.

Forbes replaces actor James Earl Jones, who due to his role in a successful Broadway production of "On Golden Pond," postponed his speech until next fall on a date to be announced.

Forbes, whose column "Fact and Comment" appears in each issue of Forbes magazine, is an economic prognosticator who has won the Crystal Owl award four times as the financial journalist whose economic forecasts for the coming year proved to be most accurate. He also is author of the book "A New Birth of Freedom," which outlines his vision for America in the new millennium.

On the political front, Forbes most recently mounted a campaign for the 2000 Republican nomination for president. Though he withdrew in February of 2000, his campaign was credited for its influence on the national debate, advocating a flat tax, a retirement security system, power to parents plan and medical savings accounts.

While a student at Princeton University, where he received his bachelor's degree in history in 1970, Forbes was the founding editor of Business Today, which became the country's largest magazine published by students for students, with a circulation of 200,000. In 1990, Forbes assumed the role of editor-in-chief at Forbes Magazine. Since then Forbes Inc. has expanded with a variety of publications, including a lifestyle supplement called Forbes FYI; a technology supplement called Forbes ASAP; the Gilder Technology Report; Forbes Global Business & Finance, the magazine's international edition; and Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Brazilian, Russian, Arabic and Hebrew editions of the magazine.

Forbes has also served on the Board of Trustees at Princeton, as well as various other boards nationwide.

The event is free but tickets are required. Tickets will be available to students attending the University Park campus on Tuesday, April 5. Faculty, staff and students from other Penn State campuses can pick up their tickets on Wednesday, April 6. The general public may pick up any remaining tickets beginning Thursday, April 7, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets may be obtained from the Eisenhower Auditorium box office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets also are distributed at the HUB-Robeson Center outlet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday, and the Downtown Theatre Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Individuals are limited to two free tickets each.

The Distinguished Speaker Series is sponsored by the University Park Allocation Committee and coordinated by the Distinguished Speaker Series Committee and the Office of Student Activities. Funded by student activity fees, the series is free to the public. For more information, contact the Office of Student Activities at (814) 863-3786 or stop by 207 HUB-Robeson Cultural Center.

Last Updated March 20, 2009

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