6/2/98
ATHENS, Ohio -- A panel discussion at this weekend's Black Alumni Reunion will bring together four African-American leaders to discuss challenges facing the black community.
"It's going to be a dialogue about real issues that impact real people," said Dexter Bailey, the Office of Alumni Relations' assistant director for communications. "We hope to come up with some new ideas and answers to some tough questions."
The discussion, titled "Issues for the New Millennium," will address Affirmative Action, education, self-empowerment, and the role family, business and politics play in the lives of minorities. It is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (June 6) in Grover Center, and is free and open to the public.
The discussion will feature Leon Harris, co-anchor of Cable News Network's "Morning News" and a 1983 graduate of Ohio University. Harris, who was the keynote speaker at the 1995 Black Alumni Reunion, began his work at CNN as an unpaid intern immediately after graduation. He earned an entry-level position the next year and worked his way up to an appointment as the morning show anchor in 1992. Harris won the Best Anchor award at the 17th Annual CableACE Awards in 1995.
Other panelists are:
Kenneth Irby, an award-winning photojournalist and associate at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. His commercial photography work has appeared in Time, Ebony and Essence magazines.
Barbara Ross-Lee, dean of the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine since 1993. Among other honors, she was the first osteopathic physician to participate in the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship, serving as a legislative assistant for health to former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey.
Sharon Pratt Kelley, community activist, educator and former mayor of Washington, D.C. She was the first -- and so far the only -- woman to serve as mayor of the nation's capital. Since leaving office in 1995, she has spent much of her time teaching, and offers a seminar through the Institute of Politics at Harvard University titled "Preparing America's Cities for the 21st Century."
The moderator will be Brian McIntyre, consumer reporter for WEWS-TV in Cleveland and a 1991 Ohio University graduate.