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Judy Woodruff to speak at Furman Oct. 18
Judy Woodruff / Photo credit: PBS
On October 18, the Furman Women’s Impact Network (FurmanWIN) will host veteran broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff at McAlister Auditorium for a conversation about open discourse with Cynthia King, a professor of communication studies and the associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence, and Danielle Vinson, a professor of politics and international affairs.
FurmanWIN is focused on providing leadership, engagement and philanthropic initiatives for Furman women with the goal of positively impacting The Furman Advantage, the university’s signature education framework centered on engaged learning, reflection, belonging and mentoring.
“This is a remarkable opportunity to learn about a topic of immense public importance from someone who has devoted her career to asking critical questions and informing the public,” said Minor Mickel Shaw, national volunteer chairwoman for FurmanWIN and a member of The Duke Endowment’s Board of Trustees. “We are excited for Judy Woodruff to speak at Furman and to explore the importance of open, rigorous public discourse.”
Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is the senior correspondent for the “PBS NewsHour” and served for 11 years as its anchor and managing editor. She is currently working on a reporting project, “America at a Crossroads,” to better understand the country’s political divide. She has covered politics and other news for more than four decades at CNN, NBC and PBS.
“As a journalistic trailblazer, Judy Woodruff has broken barriers for women in news reporting, while being a model for integrity, fairness and hard-hitting interviews for all journalists,” said King. “Her reporting standards and style serve the public’s need be well informed about the world around them.”
For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, where her duties included anchoring the weekday program, “Inside Politics.” At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.” From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS’ award-winning weekly documentary series, “Frontline with Judy Woodruff.”
In 2006, Woodruff, who is a graduate of Duke University and a trustee emerita, was a visiting professor at Duke’s Sanford Institute of Public Policy. In 2005, she was a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. From 2006-2013, she anchored a monthly program for Bloomberg Television, “Conversations with Judy Woodruff.”
At NBC News, Woodruff was White House correspondent from 1977 to 1982.
She is a founding co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation, an organization that promotes and encourages women in communication industries worldwide. She serves on the boards of trustees of the Freedom Forum and The Duke Endowment. Formerly she was a trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Urban Institute, and a member of The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. on October 18 in McAlister Auditorium. Register by October 10 to reserve your seat.