New Jersey Speakers Series Announces Lineup for 2017-2018 Season

The New Jersey Speakers Series, presented by Fairleigh Dickinson University, is preparing to welcome a stellar lineup of some of today’s most celebrated and influential personalities to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in downtown Newark, NJ. Officially kicking off on Oct. 12, the Series will offer seven evenings of thought-provoking discussion, which will be highlighted by a presentation featuring former President Bill Clinton. The complete list of presenters in order of appearance includes:

• Oct. 12, 2017 - David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2016)
• Nov. 2, 2017 – Jeffrey Toobin, Supreme Court expert and esteemed legal analyst
• Nov. 30, 2017 – Cokie Roberts, journalist and author
• Feb. 1, 2018 – Robin Wright, Middle East expert, award-winning journalist and author
• Feb. 22, 2018 – Rick Steves, author, television host and European travel guide
• March 22, 2018 – Paul Nicklen, award-winning National Geographic photographer
• April 12, 2018 – President Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States

Tickets for the 2017-2018 New Jersey Speakers Series are available now by visiting http://www.NJSpeakersSeries.or... or by calling 888-MY-NJPAC. As in years past, the series is being sold by subscription only, with subscribers guaranteed admission to hear from all seven dynamic speakers. Subscriptions for the entire series range from $275 - $475. All presentations will begin at 8 p.m., and each is followed by a spirited Q&A period during which the speaker addresses questions from the audience.

“Fairleigh Dickinson University is honored to once again present an outstanding line-up of speakers,” said Christopher Capuano, president of Fairleigh Dickinson University. “It promises to be an exciting year with many important topics presented, culminating with a visit by a former U.S. president. As a University devoted to preparing world citizens, we take great pride in bringing important programs like this that enrich the cultural and intellectual life of our community.”

The 2017-2018 Speakers Series will kick off with a presentation by David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As the youngest British Prime Minister in two centuries, Cameron led a transformation of the U.K.’s economy through his work to remodel the Conservative Party with a modern, compassionate agenda. In 2016, Cameron resigned following the U.K. vote to leave the European Union.

On Nov. 2, Jeffrey Toobin will take the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Best known for his books, The Oath and The Nine, which chronicled the inner workings of the Supreme Court, Toobin began his career clerking for a federal judge and later served as an associate counsel to Lawrence Walsh during the Iran-Contra affair and Oliver North’s criminal trial. He has since provided legal analyses on high-profile cases for CNN and The New Yorker. His book on the O.J. Simpson murder case was adapted as a television series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and aired in 2016 as the first season of FX’s American Crime Story, winning numerous Emmy awards.

In late November, the New Jersey Speakers Series will welcome journalist and author Cokie Roberts. After serving as a congressional correspondent for more than a decade, Roberts is best known for her role as a senior news analyst for NPR. She is also a regular roundtable analyst on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and serves as a political commentator for ABC News. Roberts has also written a number of bestselling books.

The Speakers Series will continue in February 2018 with a presentation by Robin Wright. As a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International School for Scholars, Wright has received numerous awards for her reporting for The New Yorker and other publications. She is also the author of many books on the Middle East. The most recent of these books, titled Rock the Casbah, was named the best book on international affairs by the Overseas Press Club.

Rick Steves will grace the Speakers Series stage on Feb. 22, 2018. In addition to authoring numerous European travel guides, Steves is the host of the public television series Rick Steves’ Europe and a public radio show called Travel with Rick Steves. He advocates for independent travel, encouraging Americans to become “temporary locals” by visiting cozy villages away from popular tourist routes, in addition to seeing major cities.

In March, 2018, New Jersey Speakers Series guests will be entertained by Paul Nicklen. An award-winning National Geographic photographer, Nicklen uses his camera to reveal the nature of the changing polar regions due to climate change. His work also includes serving as an interpreter and translator of scientific information about environmental challenges.

The 2017-2018 New Jersey Speakers Series will conclude in April with the highlight of the season as former President Bill Clinton delivers remarks. Under President Clinton’s leadership as the 42nd President of the United States, the nation enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history, which featured the creation of more than 22 million jobs.

Presented by Fairleigh Dickinson University, the New Jersey Speakers Series is sponsored by WCBS Newsradio 880, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

For more information about the 2017-2018 New Jersey Speakers Series, visit www.NJSpeakersSeries.org.

About Fairleigh Dickinson University
Devoted to the preparation of world citizens through global education, Fairleigh Dickinson University is New Jersey's largest private university and features more than 100 liberal arts and professional degree programs, two international campuses, dozens of partnerships with internationally renowned institutions and special programs and status within the United Nations. For more information, visit www.fdu.edu.