Actor James Earl Jones To Speak At Virginia Tech

Celebrated actor James Earl Jones will speak at Virginia Tech on the topic "The Culture Quest: How we Affect Culture and How Culture Affects Us." The event, sponsored by the Virginia Tech Union and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, will take place Wednesday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m. in Burruss Auditorium.

Among his recent roles, Jones was seen in "Cry the Beloved Country," a story of Apartheid inSouth Africa. Other roles include TNT's "Percy and Thunder" and the title role in "The Vernon Jones Story," the true story of the late civil rights leader. James Earl Jones appeared with Dana Carvey in the MGM comedy "Clean Slate" and starred in "Clear and Present Danger," the third in a highly popular group of Paramount films based on the best-selling books by Tom Clancy.

Jones received critical praise in the literary world for his book, James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences, a memoir published by McMillan & Co. in 1997.

Among his many awards and recognitions, Jones holds honorary doctorates from Yale, Princeton, and the University of Michigan. In 1990, the Los Angeles Film Teachers Association presented him with the Jean Renoir Award for his collected works.

In 1992 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bush. He is also the recipient of the prestigious NAACP Hall of Fame Image Award for his great contributions to the arts. In December 2002, he was among five recipients of the Silver Jubilee Kennedy Center Honors.

Tickets are free for Virginia Tech students and $5 for the general public, including faculty and staff. Tickets are required and will be available from the UUSA Ticket Office on the first floor of Squires Student Center beginning Wednesday, March 19.

For more information please visit www.vtu.org or contact Jason Shank at (540) 231-7117 or jshank@vt.edu.

Written by Jason Shank, Director of Speakers and Issues for the Virginia Tech Union